


Ninja Brian; Disaster Pansexual

by SalamanderGoo



Category: Game Grumps, TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Alien Sex, Anal Sex, Arin is Ego, Bondage, Crying, Cybernetics, Exhibitionism, F/M, Furry, Knotting, M/M, Neopronouns, Omorashi, Oral Sex, Original Planets, Other, Outer Space, Pansexual Character, Porn With Plot, Public Sex, Semi-Public Sex, Slime, Smut, Sparring, Tentacles, Trans Dan Avidan, Underwater Sex, Vines
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:40:16
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 1
Words: 53,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27426592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SalamanderGoo/pseuds/SalamanderGoo
Summary: Ninja Brian is the (second) toughest fucking ninja in the galaxy, and yet he's settled into a comfortable relationship with two of his Starlight Brigade crewmates, practically a father figure to the youngest member, and... incredibly happy.  Of course, the climb to being a ninja is hard, defecting is even harder, and navigating relationships is possibly the hardest thing to Brian.  After some urging from his partners, Brian reveals the twisted path of his sexual history, the good, the bad, and the downright kinky.Written for the Big Sexbang 2020Incredible artwork by locusrosehere!!
Relationships: Barry Kramer/Suzy Berhow/Ross O'Donovan, Brian Wecht/Original Character(s), Dan Avidan/Arin Hanson/Brian Wecht
Comments: 1
Kudos: 3
Collections: The Big Sexbang: Round 2





	Ninja Brian; Disaster Pansexual

**Author's Note:**

> There is a dubcon/noncon scene in this fic! It's relatively early on, and the entire scene is bolded! If you choose to skip it, there is nothing too major to the plot that you'll miss.
> 
> Original Aliens/Pronoun list:  
> Sung: he/she/they interchangably  
> Meouch: ey/em  
> Phobos: ze/zer  
> Havve: ae/aer  
> Strive: e/em  
> Ego: star/starself  
> Danny: he/him  
> Brian: he/him  
> Barry: they/them  
> Suzy: ve/vir  
> Ross: xe/hir  
> Aria: she/her  
> Onyx: xe/xyr  
> Kyal: ey/em  
> Kexe: ve/vir  
> Galya: she/her  
> Valux: they/them  
> Talula: ze/hir  
> Carnation: fae/faeself  
> Pix: he/him

The ship’s artificial day system was slowly beginning to buzz to life, soft yellow light bathing all the halls. Ninja Brian had been up for a little over an hour, having slipped out of bed without waking his partners. Phobos was the only other one awake (though he was pretty sure he’d heard a quiet buzzing through the ventilation that was probably the latest insectoid recruit). Ze’d been willing to spar with Brian, so they exchanged practiced blows, Phobos’s nimble style against Brian’s more blunt attacks.

It was a good session, and after they’d both been pinned several times, they shook hands and parted ways.

The ship was divided into several large sections, home to the entire Starlight Brigade. The systems onboard were always humming, somewhat irritating to Brian’s heightened senses, but over time, he’d grown used to it, and it had faded into the background somewhat. Though he did find himself missing the small, beaten old ship he and Danny had been gifted and used in their early days in space, which had needed repairs on almost every planet they landed on. Funds had been tight back then, barely scraping by between the funds they managed for performances. And of course Danny’s promiscuity had earned them… more than Brian cared to consider.

Brian frowned at his reflection in the mirror of the tiny bathroom, head tilted up as he carefully shaved around the nasty raised scar that had been slashed across his throat many years ago. He let out a soft sigh as he finished shaving, patting his face dry. Ego and Danny were curled up together in bed, and a small grin spread across his face. He flicked on the lights in their room, watching as Danny curled closer to Ego, face buried in stars chest. Ego draped a soft pink arm over stars face, wincing. “Asshole.”

‘ _ Love you too! Breakfast in ten minutes.’ _ He grinned, leaving the room and heading to the kitchen. He started getting everything prepared, watching out the small window in the door that led to the rest of the ship.

Ross, one of the only other humans on the ship, lifted a tired hand in greeting as xe passed. Brian waved back, watching as xe turned down the hall, likely to hir partner, Barry, if Brian recalled correctly. Not that he knew Ross well, just enough to know xe was human and had been there longer than him.

“So… who was your first?” Brian looked up at the question, raising an eyebrow at Danny, who was wrapped up in the quilt he’d nabbed from the bed.

_ ‘My first? _ ’

“You know, your first time having sex, who was it with? And when?”

Ego trailed Danny, stretching stars arms above stars head, giving a pleased hum when stars back cracked. “Yeah, Bri!”

Brian rolled his eyes, thinking a moment. ‘ _ Aria. She was another trainee in the clan, but got transferred. Didn’t see her ever again. _ ’

“Really?” Ego sat at the table, grinning when Brian handed star a glass of water.

‘ _ Yeah. Why do you guys ask?’ _

“Curious.” Danny giggled. “B’sides, it’s not like I ever saw you getting much action out there. Did you ever get out, mess around with a total stranger, just for the hell of it?”

_ ‘A few times. Mostly while you were off doing your own thing, though I’m not totally sure how you missed Pix. He and I were like, just in the other room, but I guess you were asleep _ .’ Brian shrugged, starting to make eggs for breakfast.  _ ‘Are you two really that curious about this? _ ’

“Why wouldn't we be? It’s not like me or Danny are exactly quiet about our sexual history.” Ego smiled. “You’re our partner, dude. You don’t talk about your past much, do you?”

‘ _ We all know why that is _ .’ He rolled his eyes, but there was the faintest hint of a smile on his lips. ‘ _ I’ve been through shit. Shit I don’t need to drag you into. But… I will allow you to grill me about my sex life because I love you both that much _ .’

“Fuck yeah!” Danny giggled. “I always kinda thought you were a virgin. But then the first time we fucked, you blew my mind, baby girl.”

_ ‘Your mind is kind of easy to blow _ .’

“Hey!”

“He’s kind of right, sunshine.” Ego reached to hold Danny’s hand, not even trying to hide the grin on stars face. “You’re sweet and a little naive, but endlessly enthusiastic about everything and anything. Remember when the Brigade landed on that mainly aquatic planet? You sat on the edge of a lake and just stared at all the creatures. Your eyes were wide and you looked almost like a… a… Bri, what’s that earth animal I really really like?”

_ ‘A cat _ ?’

Ego snapped stars fingers. “A cat! You looked like a cat dude. It was insanely cute.”

“How did you forget the word for cat?”

“We don’t have them on Lucerne. And Meouch is a kitty, not a cat. There’s a difference.”

“I’m not a kitty?”

‘ _ You’re both himbos. _ ’ Brian gave them both plates with eggs, rolling his eyes as he sat down.

Danny pouted, but started to eat. Ego hummed as star began to eat, thinking. “So… time to grill you about your sex life?”

‘... _ Fine _ .’ Brian leaned back in his chair, poking at his eggs.  _ ‘I’m guessing you’re curious about my first time _ ?’

“Obviously! When was it? Who’s Aria?”

Brian sighed. ‘ _ Well, I was still a recruit. I’d known my life was leading to becoming a ninja, but I was still an anxious kid _ …’

Brian, not yet Ninja Brian, stood in a line of other recruits, back straight and eyes… not quite staring straight ahead. His eyes darted to the left, where a young woman, presumably 19 like him, was standing. She had dark brown eyes, almost black, the irises almost blending in with her pupils. From a young age, Brian had been trained to read people’s eyes. After all, when he was a full fledged ninja, not just a trainee, he’d be around others in full masks all the time.

For now, the trainees didn’t wear masks.

Something about the woman next to him was… alluring. He quickly pulled his eyes away, trying not to blush. The last thing he needed was to show any weaknesses. He’d focus on his training, become a ninja, and not think about attractive people.

This was fine.

But she was in his group of recruits, which made it… incredibly hard not to look at her. He found himself stealing glances between sessions of effective assassination and harnessing metaphysical energy. He wasn’t sure if it was affecting him, at least if it was barring him from reaching his full potential, but god, something about her was utterly intoxicating. And he wanted to know everything about her. Besides, he was already being seen as ruthless and excelling in all of his training. He was sure it couldn’t be hindering him that bad.

It wasn’t like she was his first crush, far from it. He’d been a teenager, hormones and all. All through high school, he’d develop crushes on classmates, but never approach them. It wasn’t like he’d ever be able to have a long term relationship into his adulthood, at least, he was fairly certain. Ninjas just… didn’t get to. And he wasn’t exactly the type for one night stands. At least… he didn’t think he was.

But then he was being cornered by the girl. It was the end of the day, 30 minutes between the final session and time to be in their quarters. Brian, like many of the other trainees, would usually spend that time meditating, training his mind with the same intensity he trained his body. But here he was, pinned to the back wall of the sleeping quarters, nearly black eyes holding his bright blue gaze. A soft breeze passed through, rustling the leaves in the woods the camp was right up against. “What-”

“Shh.” She grinned, just about an inch taller than him, but it felt like so much more. “I see how you look at me,” she murmured, pressing closer to him, close enough that her soft black hair brushed against his neck as it was blown by the gentle breeze. Her leg slid between his thighs, pressing against his crotch, where all the blood was very quickly rushing. “Now tell me, do you want me?”

“...What’s your name?” His voice was soft, a far cry from the reputation he was gaining for himself.

“Aria.” Her voice was soft, a whisper against his skin, her mouth on his neck as she pinned him.

“I’m Brian.” His own name had become almost foreign on his own lips, his hips grinding down against her thigh, almost against his will. “Aria, I-”

“Shh.” She cut him off with a searing kiss, her tongue gently nudging past his lips as his eyes rolled back. Then she was pulling away, his head following hers as he struggled to catch his breath, dizzy with the sheer arousal, to a level he’d never felt before. “Are you a virgin, Brian?” Her smile was almost shark like as he nodded, her hands under his shirt, feeling his chest and stomach. “How bad do you want me?”

“So bad… I’ve never done this…”

“You just do what I say, hm?” She pulled out a small bottle of lube, obviously contraband. Something about the simple action had Brian’s eyes following her hands… god her hands. He almost wanted her to shove her fingers into his mouth and gag him with them, his already red face flushing darker at the thought. “I’m gonna take you for a wild ride you’ll never forget.” She gently turned him around, grinding gently against the curve of his ass, her bulge pressing against him. He had to bite into his sleeve to keep from crying out as she reached around him, groping him. “Oh, I see someone is an exhibitionist. How does it make you feel? To know that just through that wall are the other trainees, that the elders could be anywhere, watching? That we’re just one moan from being caught?” She leaned in closer, nipping at his earlobe. “That I’m about to fill you until you can’t think about anything other than getting fucked again…”

Brian gasped as the cool night air brushed across his heated skin, over his exposed ass, his pants yanked down to his knees. Of course, he’d fingered himself in the shower before, two fingers up his ass as he jerked off under the warm water. But this was something entirely different, feeling her drizzle the lube over his aching hole. Her fingers prodded carefully into him, just a little rough. He bit his tongue to keep from crying out, his body rocking slightly as he tried to get friction from something, a few drops of pre dripping from the head of his achingly hard cock onto the grass below.

Aria took a moment to carefully rub her fingers along the sensitive skin inside him, earning a choked off gasp. “Aria, please,” he hissed. “I need you, please…”

“So desperate.” She sounded plased, and a small part of Brian so desperately did want to be laid in the grass and fucked so he could see her face, but any of those thoughts quickly fell away as the head of her cock began to nudge inside him, stretching him in a way that he’d never felt. “You’re tight, shit,” she murmured, slowly rocking her hips and holding his sides. “I can’t believe no one’s ever fucked you before, especially with those pretty sounds you make.”

He moaned out, gasping when her hand clapped over his mouth to quiet him, her middle and ring fingers slipping inside his mouth. He started to suck lightly on her fingers, tongue lightly tracing over the shape of her short nails as his eyes rolled back slightly in pleasure, her fingers muffling the tiny sounds he found himself making. “Damn, maybe I should have had you blow me first. That tongue…” Her hips jerked forward with more force, and Brian sucked harder on her fingers to keep from yelling out as her cock brushed his prostate.

He pressed his forehead against the wall, the brick rough against his skin, which was flushed red and heated, the bricks cooler than he was. He wanted to scream out into the night, his abs tight as he just took the intense pace she’d set. He was pretty sure there was some level of celibacy, whether a vow or an expectation for ninjas, but he sure as fuck didn’t care right now. He was a trainee after all.

“Mm, that’s a good boy,” she murmured, the pace getting faster, almost frenzied.

Brian panted, definitely drooling around Aria’s fingers as he felt his cock leaking more. “Aria,” he whined around her fingers, voice mostly muffled.

“Are you already gonna cum? Gonna be an absolute mess all for me? I’m flattered.” She let out a quiet, breathy laugh, and that made her cock flex inside him, pressing against all his most sensitive spots.

He gasped, knees almost giving out as he could feel himself getting closer, stomach tightening. There was drool down his chin, and he couldn’t catch his breath. “A-Aria, holy shit… Harder, please!” He could hardly keep his voice cracking slightly in absolute desperation, something he’d never felt.

And then her blunt nails scratched down his back, not hard enough to break the skin, but it stung, and something inside him seemed to... snap, almost.

Aria was bent over him, and he could feel her start to cum, filling him. Brian’s cum splattered against the wall in front of him, and suddenly, Aria was a few feet behind him, knocked on her ass, pants down to her knees. “...Dude, did you just emit an energy blast?” Her eyes were wide, and Brian could see the reflection of the moon.

“...What?” He awkwardly pulled up his pants, face flushing when he saw the white that was splattered all over the bricks. “...Did I?”

“I think so.” Aria let out a quiet laugh. “That’s some high level stuff! There are like, high level ninjas that can’t even do that.” She got up, kissing Brian’s cheek lightly. “Maybe if I fuck you again, you’ll be able to flash step next time I make you cum.” She gently slapped his butt, giggling. “Go get a shower, hm? I’ll meet you back here sometime soon.”

And then she slipped away into the night, leaving Brian flustered, but… feeling good.

‘ _...Then I never saw her again.’ _

“Really?” Dannt’s eyes were wide. “What happened to her?”

_ ‘I’m not sure. I heard rumors that she was transferred to another clan, but… I worry the worst may have happened. She was always a bit… headstrong. I heard her argue with elders a few times over the few weeks we knew each other, so it’s possible they tried to… correct her behavior.’  _ He made a face at that, the implications clear.  _ ‘I don’t know though. She was a hell of a woman, and sometimes I wonder what might have happened if she had stayed or if we hadn’t met at all.’ _

“Well, everyone you meet changes your life whether you think they do or not.” Ego sipped stars juice, thinking. “Do you think that she really did help you kind of… unlock your abilities?”

_ ‘To an extent I really do. That was the first time I ever performed an energy blast. I mean, it’s not like I had really tried before, I wouldn’t be in training for that for… a few years probably. But after that, I could do them pretty easily. Aria was a strong woman, I would’ve loved to see her grow to her full potential, but… I do hope she's doing well if she’s still out there.’  _ Brian leaned his cheek on his hand, shrugging.

“That’s crazy.” Danny thought for a long moment. “Do you think you would’ve been, like, serious with her if you had the choice?”

‘ _ I think… I think I might have. If I had known I was waiting for you… I don’t think so. Probably would’ve let her fuck me again, though.’ _ He casually drank his water as Sung suddenly came tearing through, her helmet on haphazardly.  _ ‘Good morning Sung.’ _

“Hey guys!” He adjusted his helmet, snatching a loaf of bread. Well, it wasn’t the same kind of bread as Earth had. But Brian had found a grain similar to wheat on a planet a few lightyears back, and it made a damn good bread. Even if it was blue.

Danny tilted his head. “That’s our blue bread.”

“Our new recruit was asking about food and stuff! Ve’s never really been off vir planet before.” Sung poked around the cabinets before, her helmet still off kilter.

Ego laughed, standing to fix it for him. “When did we pick vir up? Like… two planets ago, right? Haven’t seen much of vir around.”

“Mhm! Ve's an accomplished fighter, and Havve’s teaching vir to fly a craft. Ve’s more of a melee fighter. Uh… vir name is Suzy, and ve’s got an exoskeleton which is cool… Uh, and wings like one of those earth bugs. The kind that flies around lakes and shit? Long ass bodies?”

Brian raised an eyebrow. ‘ _...A dragonfly?’ _

“That sounds close enough and I don’t know enough about Earth bugs to dispute it. You guys gearing up for training?” He grinned, holding the bread and a box of dried meat snacks.

Danny nodded, grinning. “Can Brian and I take out the Thunderstorm today?”

“We’ll see.” They grinned as they headed for the door. “Get through your warmups without flubbing any, and I’ll put in a good word with Phobos.”

“But ze never lets me fly it!”

Brian just shook his head, smiling as he took care of their dishes, Ego heading to get dressed. ‘ _ Go get ready, sunflower. Don’t act like you don’t want Ego to pin you to a mat.’ _

“...not my fault star’s so buff.” Danny stuck his tongue out at Brian before stalking off to get ready.

It was mostly sparring. Brian had opted for wearing a half mask, his hair tied back in a short ponytail. He made a face at Dan, who gave it a playful tug as he passed. ‘ _ I could slam you to the floor in a millisecond.’ _

“But I’m cute, so you won’t.”

_ ‘You’re wearing a skirt to training? That seems… not smart.’ _

Danny grinned, lifting the hem of his sky blue skirt. “I have shorts on under it. Sometimes a guy has to feel pretty.”

‘ _ You’re always pretty. Go fight Havve.’ _

“You’re pretty too!” Danny grinned, heading over to where Havve was standing, finishing charging aer battery.

Sung waved to Brian with a bright grin. “Brian! I want you to spar with Ross here. Xe’s a bit… scrappy, but I think xe’ll put up a good fight against you. Don't kick hir in the face. Ross, don’t kick him in the face either.

Ross grinned, extending a hand to Brian. “Oh, I’ve seen you around the ship! We haven’t gotten to talk at all though.” Hir accent was distinctly Australian, and Brian couldn’t help a small smile at that.

Brian nodded, shaking Ross’s hand, focusing a moment to connect his mental link to hir. ‘ _ Not to ignore formalities, but are you ready to get your ass handed to you? _ ’

Ross smirked, and something in it was almost… dangerous. Brian definitely liked hir energy. “Bring it old man.”

Brian used hir hand to make the first move, gripping tighter and yanking, using his other arm to grip Ross’s elbow, practically flipping hir.

Ross took it in stride, and xe managed to land on hir feet, grinning wider. “Oh, that’s how we’re playing? Perfect.” Xe rushed Brian, hir steps nimble as xe ducked a punch and swept a leg low, nearly knocking him down. Brian leapt back, avoiding the leg and sending a short blast of energy towards Ross. “Hey, that’s cheating!” Ross stumbled back, not ready for the move.

‘ _ Please, it’s a rudimentary move. Not my fault you didn’t see it coming.’  _ He flashstepped behind Ross, lightly knocking a hand against hir neck.

“Hey!” Ross jerked an elbow back, catching Brian in the gut. Xe spun around, sending another leg sweeping at Brian’s legs, this time hooking hir foot around his ankle, sending him stumbling to the ground. Brian sent a kick towards hir leg, managing to hit the back of hir knee and send her tumbling as well. But Ross just grinned, launching hirself at Brian. “I had a feeling it would take more than knocking you down.”

‘ _ You don’t seem to know exactly what I’m capable of.’ _ Brian let himself be pinned down, bringing up a knee to hold Ross off.

“How could I know? You’re like a dead zone to me dude. Sung’s not the only empath around here.” Ross let go of his wrists, allowing hirself to be shoved back, flipping to land on hir feet. “And I know that’s not all you’ve got.”

‘ _ Where did you learn to fight?’ _ Brian got up and grinned as Ross matched his blows.

“Well, I was abducted as a kid. Fought in underground clubs around the solar system to make cash, but couldn’t get away. Meouch and Phobos were breaking up a trafficking ring, I was there to fight for money, ended up being taken under their wing. I fought to survive, picked up some things here and there.” Xe shrugged as xe ducked under a punch, mostly using hir elbows to jab.

‘ _ I see what Sung was saying when they said you’re scrappy. You’re not a bad fighter, far from it, but you could learn a thing or two about form.’  _ He smiled, grabbing Ross’s wrist.

“Form?” Ross wiggled free of the hold, sending a kick at Brian’s gut.

‘ _ The way you fight can be counterproductive. You leave yourself open to attacks, and you seem to hurt yourself more than your opponent at times. Proper form would let you stay more guarded and avoid injuring yourself.’  _ With that, he caught Ross’s wrist one last time, pinning hir arms behind hir back with a hum. 

“I see. Have you considered… this?” Ross flailed. But did not break the hold.

‘ _ I can’t say I did.’  _ Brian laughed, though there wasn’t any noise that came out.

Havve came over, holding Danny over aer shoulder. “I BELIEVE THIS IS YOURS.” Ae set Danny down on the floor.

Danny pouted, looking up at aer. “I could have walked.”

“YOUR ANKLE IS SPRAINED.”

“...is not.”

Brian sighed, shaking his head. ‘ _ Does your ankle hurt?’ _

“...Yeah.” 

‘ _ I’m taking you to the medbay. Ross, we’ll meet up soon, okay? Why don’t you go spar with Strive or Havve for now?’ _

Ross mock saluted, grinning at Havve. Danny sighed as he let himself be pulled onto Brian’s back, piggyback style. “It’s not that bad.”

_ ‘If it was just a sprained ankle in regular circumstances, sure. But if we’re attacked, god forbid, and you can’t run to get to your ship? It could end poorly. We don’t want to lose you Danny, you’re too important to us. To me.’ _

Danny fell quiet, resting his chin on top of Brian’s head, one arm wrapped around his neck loosely to keep his balance, the other idly messing with his soft hair. “...Okay.”

_ ‘I don’t think Phobos will let you take out the Thunderstorm now.’ _

“Damnit.” Danny was pouting a little, but his position on Brian’s back was comfortable, so he didn’t whine much. He allowed himself to be set on a table in the medbay, arms crossed as Brian leaned on the table.

Before long, the soft sound of hooves could be heard. “Hey!” Barry smiled sweetly at them. “What brings you here?”

Danny sighed. “I sprained my ankle while sparring Havve.”

“Ae’s like twice your size.” Barry hummed, inspecting Danny’s ankle carefully. “This is an easy fix, but you’ll have to stay off your feet for the rest of the day.” They rested a gentle hand on Danny’s ankle, their horn glowing a soft lavender color. Danny winced at the touch, but a cooling sensation relaxed him, the pain in his ankle ebbing away.

“That’s always so impressive to me.” Danny rolled his ankle gently.

“It’s the same kind of energy manipulation Brian here uses, just used differently! It’s so underutilized by you humans.”

Brian grinned. ‘ _ Well, I think Ross might be interested in learning. I sparred with hir once and the idea of hir using energy is already terrifying.’ _

Barry grinned. “Xe really is a tank, huh? Maybe I’ll try and teach hir some basic moves. ...healing mostly. Xe’s already Australian. I don’t need hir becoming the most powerful being in history.”

Brian nodded, smirking under his mask. ‘ _ Well, I’m gonna get Danny to one of the lounges to rest. Thanks Barry.’ _

“Anytime! Don’t let Danny hurt his ankle more, okay?”

Brian saluted before picking Danny up easily, smiling as Danny’s arms wrapped around his neck. The ship had several small lounges for members of the Brigade to rest and socialize. Most were near kitchens for easy movie nights, or midnight snacks. Brian didn’t usually spend a whole lot of time in them unless he was dragged out by one of his partners, preferring to spend spare time reading or training solo, but being with Ego and Danny had really helped him start breaking out of his shell.

He carefully set Danny on the softest couch, letting Danny pull him down with a small smile. ‘ _ Dweeb. _ ’

Danny just grinned, pulling Brian closer, close to his chest. “If I’m grounded for the rest of the day, so are you.” He pressed his face against Brian’s hair, smiling softly. “You smell nice.”

‘ _ I’m sweaty.’ _

“You smell like you. Like… home.” Danny laid back, arms crossed over Brian’s chest, holding him close. Brian could get away if he wanted to, but why would he? There was nowhere else in the galaxy he’d rather be.

Danny was humming softly, propping his ankle up on the other arm of the couch, settled in comfortably. “You should read to me sometime.”

‘ _ I wish I could read to you properly.’ _

“I do too.” He ran his fingers through Brian’s hair, gently taking out his ponytail and stroking it sweetly. “Even if I can’t hear your voice in the traditional sense, it still means a lot to hear you the way you let me.”

‘ _...I love you Danny.’ _ Brian sighed softly, snuggling closer.  _ ‘I’m incredibly lucky I met you.’  _ He allowed Danny to gently take off his mask, kissing him sweetly, the metal piercing in Danny’s tongue cool against his own, the taste of him so uniquely Danny.

Ego smiled as star stepped into the lounge, a towel around stars shoulders. “Hey there you two..”

“Hi Ego.” Danny smiled as he pulled away. “Barry told me I have to stay off my feet for the day and Brian has been claimed as my space heater.” He grinned, setting Brian’s mask down to the side. “Heh. Space.”

‘ _ Ego our boyfriend is stupid.’ _

“All three of us are stupid.” Star giggled as star dragged a cushy armchair over by the couch, giving Brian and Danny little kisses on the head. “But if you two are grounded, I’ll stay.”

Danny gasped. “Brian can tell us more sex stories!”

Ego grinned brightly, nodding in agreement. “Yeah!”

Brian let out a silent groan, draped dramatically on top of Dan. ‘ _ Fine, only because the two of you are pretty.’ _

“We know.” Ego giggled.

Brian rolled his eyes. ‘ _ Shush. This one is… I guess worse. Sometimes my skin still crawls to think about it…’ _

**\-----------**

**He was older this time, thinking a little less about Aria as he kept moving through the ranks in the clan. He was the youngest in his group by several years, which definitely ate at his nerves, but of course he’d never let it show.**

**Onyx, a tall ninja with fiery green eyes had… well, kind of taken Brian under xyr wing. Xe didn’t seem to trust Brian or even care much, which irritated him.**

**He didn’t know why, but the lack of trust made him work even harder, enough that he began to work harder, because maybe he could prove himself to Onyx, show he was worthy of xyr trust.**

**But Brian realized that even though his energy manipulation was damn near perfect, incredibly beyond where someone his age should be, Onyx didn’t seem to care. So Brian pushed himself harder, training with all his time, building his strength beyond what it had been.**

**He was at his peak physical performance, stamina incredibly high, strength beyond many of the other ninjas. And Onyx was starting to notice.**

**One day, as the sky was just barely beginning to darken, Brian was in the training room after most of the others had already left for the evening meal. Brian often skipped meals in favor of training, but he was progressing so well that no one said anything. Sometimes there were small snacks or bottles of drinks on his cot when he got in at night. He was pretty sure it was one of the others in his group, but couldn’t pinpoint who. He wouldn’t complain though.**

**“Ninja Brian.”**

**Brian turned in surprise and quickly bowed in respect. “Ninja Onyx.”**

**“You are doing well.” Xe stopped the swinging punching bag, eyeing up Brian. “You’ve come far from when you first advanced.”**

**“Thank you. I have been working hard.” His eyes carefully tracked xyr movements.**

**“You certainly have. I’ve taken a… particular interest in you. You may be the key for our clan taking over this whole territory.”**

**“The elders don’t seem to think so. Elder Jade thinks I need more training before I can be sent out on real missions.”**

**“The elders don’t know what they’re talking about.” Onyx rested a hand on Brian’s hip, something about the motion.. uncomfortable, sending a shiver up his spine. “You’re so far beyond many in this tiny clan. I go out on missions all the time, and we could use your talents.”**

**“You think so?” Brian looked up at xem. “I… I don’t know, Elder Jade seemed pretty sure of themself, and I mean, I can’t just go against them.”**

**“But we can.” Xyr hand drifted lower, making Brian freeze in place. “Brian, you’re so strong, we could take this whole place over. Let me take over your training. Let’s see just how strong you can get.”**

**He swallowed, feeling frozen in place. Brian didn’t know what to do, but nodded slightly, if only to get Onyx’s hand off him. “O-Okay.”**

**“Good, get out of here then. We** **_will_ ** **be starting early, and you’ll want your rest.”**

**Xyr eyes seemed to bore into his back as Brian left the training room. He felt… unsettled, but maybe he was reading the energy wrong.**

**After all, he was no empath.**

**The next morning came before the barest glimpse of orange from the sun. He was roughly shoved out of bed, dragged by the wrist out of the sleeping quarters. He began silently struggling immediately, and if it weren’t for a sharp “Knock it off,” hissed at him, he would have broken Onyx’s fingers.**

**Brian struggled to stay on his feet as they got to the training quarters, pupils expanding slightly as he began adjusting to the dark. There was very little artificial light in the clan’s territory, aside from a few candles in the library. They said it was to encourage development of night vision, but Brian’s secret theory was that they just didn’t want to pay for modern wiring.**

**“I expected you to be awake already.” Onyx sounded angry, and Brian bowed his head as Onyx yanked his hair to force it that way. “Maybe I didn’t make myself clear. You are to be here in this position when I arrive every morning.”**

**“Onyx-”**

**“I didn’t give you permission to speak, did I?” It was practically a snarl, and it took everything in Brian’s willpower not to shrink away from xem. “You will speak only with my permission. You will follow my orders to the letter. You are subservient to me in every way. Do you understand?” At Brian’s hesitation, xey snapped. “Understand?”**

**“Yes, Onyx!”**

**“That’s more like it.”**

**It was a full week of being dragged out of bed before the sun until Brian’s internal clock began to wake him soon enough. His days were longer than the sun’s, up before it was over the horizon, not allowed to go to bed until well after all the stars were shining. He became… stoic, so exhausted by the training regimen Onyx had set that emotions took up too much of his energy. He was being… molded. A deep part of his mind that he’d started to ignore was telling him he was being molded, but he just continued to ignore.**

**Until one day, Brian didn’t even know how long into training, he assumed several months, Onyx gave him a new command. “On your knees.”**

**It was late and Brian was tired. He opened his mouth to ask why, but quickly shut it as he got to his knees, closing his eyes. It was dark, he was tired, and he just hoped this was it before he could crash for a few hours and do it all again.**

**“Mouth open, tongue out.” And then he had xyr crotch pressed to his face. He struggled a moment before just… accepting it. If anyone had asked if he wanted this, he didn’t know how he’d answer.**

**He… really didn’t know. So he just silently went along with it.**

**The smell in the air was heady and musky, and he didn’t really… process anything. He just weakly moved his tongue, squeezing his eyes shut tighter as Onyx yanked his hair, having xyr way with him. It was fine, Brian guessed. He didn’t process much of it, listening to xyr choked off sighs and groans.**

**“Brian.” He weakly lifted his head, only looking at xem through his eyelashes, worn and exhausted. He wanted to go to bed.**

**“On your back.” Brian distantly wondered if xyr voice was kinder. He couldn’t tell, just rolling onto his back. His arms were still behind him, arching his back slightly above the barely padded floor, which was cool against his warm skin. He heard rustling, and then he was being touched. He let out a weak whine, biting his tongue so his canines pressed down into it, hard enough it hurt a little. Maybe he could escape. The elders talked about astral projection, if he could leave his body-**

**A finger pressed against his prostate and he let out a yelp, biting his tongue hard enough that it bled. “Shh.” Onyx fingered him, smirking as xe watched Brian get hard from the constant, almost painful stimulation. “That’s right,” xey muttered. Xyr other hand stroked him carefully, spreading leaks of pre down his shaft.**

**He let out a tiny groan from the back of his throat, pressing his hips up. Arousal was building up in his gut, and he wanted to cum and be done, have the heat out of his body. “No,” he mumbled, mouth tasting like metal, body sticky with sweat. For the first time since he was a recruit, he wanted… to cry.**

**He wasn’t going to, but it stung behind his eyes, and his throat felt tight. He wanted this to be over.**

**Onyx didn’t hear. Maybe xey pretended not to. Regardless, xey stopped stroking him, and the finger on his prostate retreated. For a few precious seconds, nothing was touching Brian, and he was taking heaving breaths, chest rising and falling heavily. He didn’t make any sound, squeezing his eyes shut.**

**Then there was tight heat around his cock as Onyx began to move up and down. “Shh, just don’t move Brian.” His chest hurt as he tried to catch his breath, gripping his own wrist tightly behind his back. He just… let himself be used, eyes tightly closed.**

**It would be over soon, it would be done, he could go to bed.**

**Brian wanted to run away, he could feel himself shaking. He felt every long second that dragged past, crawling just under his skin, but he could only squeeze his eyes shut tighter.**

**Then xey cried out softly, and Brian knew xey were cumming. Neither one of them moved for a long moment before Onyx got up, fabric rustling as they redressed. “Don’t expect this to mean you get to skip any training. Normal time, bright and early.” Ironic, considering the sun wouldn’t be up for several hours when he was required to be up.**

**Brian listened to xyr steps grow fainter, only the moon allowing the faintest light in the training room. He thought about just staying there until he’d normally be up for training, but after awhile, maybe as little as a few minutes, maybe as long as an hour, he slowly got to his feet. He didn’t know if he’d cum, was pretty sure he hadn’t, but he wasn’t hard anymore. He pulled up his pants weakly, stepping out of the training room and standing outside, trying to get a full breath of air. It felt like he wasn’t filling his lungs as he made his way to the shower stalls.**

**It was truly black in there, no light coming in the concrete building, no light to turn on. And it was… relieving. He couldn’t see himself, no one could see him.**

**He stripped as he turned a knob in the shower, freezing water hitting his skin. He slid to the floor, holding his knees to his chest as he closed his eyes. The water helped him stay put. He swallowed thickly, the taste of Onyx and blood still in his mouth, sticking to his tongue. He squeezed his eyes shut and tilted up his head, filling his mouth with cold water, letting it spill over his face. Until the taste was gone.**

**His scalp hurt from the pulling, and he wanted to find a blade, chop his hair off at the scalp. He wanted… he didn’t want to be touched at all. Ever, until he died. His eyes burned, bad. The part of him he hadn’t listened to in… however long it had been, told him to cry. Because crying would take away the pain in his throat, get rid of the pain in his eyes.**

**But the rest of him, that made him follow Onyx’s orders, get up too early, didn’t let him fight back… it told him to shut up.**

**And he did.**

**And it… hurt.**

**_‘Xey died on a mission a few months later. That night I cut all my hair off and cried in the showers. Elder Jade allowed me to wear a mask after, I think they knew what xey… did. I just wanted to… to hide.’_ ** **Brian was staring down at his lap, sitting on the end of the couch, skin crawling as he relived the memories.**

**Ego quietly moved in front of him, gently wiping away tears that Brian didn’t really feel falling, but suddenly his chest seized and a faint, almost silent squeak of air came from his throat, chest lurching. He let Ego pull him closer, burying his face in star’s shoulder as he silently sobbed, unable to make any noise, adding to his frustration. ‘** **_I lost my voice not long later. I think- think someone found out. They called me things when they cut my throat.’_ **

**Danny was staring at him, silent, horrified tears on his face. “Is… Is that why you always freaked out when I touched you when we were still getting to know each other?”**

**‘** **_Yeah. And when I did let you touch me, it still made my skin crawl until I… until I knew you wouldn’t-’_ ** **His body tried to force another sob, and he gripped Ego’s shirt tighter, trying to focus on stars soft pink skin, on stars sweet smelling hair, anything.** **_‘And even for awhile, I missed xem. Even after I cut my hair off because of xem, even after I felt so broken. I missed xem and didn’t know how to continue my training. I still got up and stood in the empty training room for hours with my head down, until the sun was up and others were asking me what I was doing. It’s not like losing my voice changed much. I was so fucked up that I barely spoke anymore anyway.’_ ** **He wiped his nose on his sleeve.**

**“Was that the only time xey-”**

**‘** **_No.’_ ** **Brian sighed, taking a long shaky breath.**

**\-------**

“Hey, how is-” Sung cut himself off as he was slammed by the emotions hanging in the room. Remorse, anger, hurt, fear… “What happened?” She tilted her head, trying to sort through the tangled strands of feelings.

Brian let out a huff of air. ‘ _ Talking about the past. Dredging up shit I never wanted to remember. What do you need, Doc?’ _

“I wanted to see how Danny is. Brian, if you need to speak with someone, there are counsellors on the ship. Even ones who don’t understand a lot about humans if that’s what makes you comfortable.”

Brian wiped his eyes, shaking his head.  _ ‘Nah. I’m okay. So is Danny, just a sprain and Barry fixed him up. He’s off his feet for the day, so Ego and I are staying with him.’ _

Danny nodded, scooting to press against Brian’s side. “I’m perfectly good.” He smiled when Brian’s hand began to idly mess with his curls, twisting and faintly tugging the locks of hair. “We’ll be okay, right Bri?”

‘ _ Yeah.’  _ He smiled weakly, wiping his eyes one last time with a tired sigh.  _ ‘We’ll be okay. I’ll be sure of it.’ _

Sung smiled softly. “Well, I’m glad you guys are okay. I’ll be in my workshop, give me a shout if you need me.” They gave a wave before heading down a hallway that went the exact opposite direction from her workshop.

“...Should we say something?” Ego watched her go.

‘ _ He’ll be fine. He won’t even come back this way and still find their stupid lab.’  _ Brian grinned, cheek nestled against Danny’s chest as he faintly closed his eyes. ‘ _ Emotions are exhausting. How do you deal with having these every single day?’ _

Ego snorted. “You have emotions, dumbass.”

‘ _ You can’t prove that. I’ve never experienced one emotion.’ _

Danny grinned, poking Brian in the ribs gently. “You have emotions. I’ve seen them.”

‘ _ No that was a lie from the Proxima Galaxy when I got acidic dust in my eyes.’ _

Ego giggled. “You humans and your lack of inner eyelids. Totally lame.”

‘ _ Suck my dick.’ _

“No you.”

Brian smirked at star, wiggling his eyebrows. ‘ _ I’m always glad to take your weird dick down my throat.’ _

“It’s not a dick! It’s an ovipositor. Obviously my species is more advanced.”

“Because you lay eggs? Earth birds do that and we eat them.” Danny giggled. “Eggs and bird.”

“...Don’t eat my eggs, they might be poisonous.”

Brian let out a huff of breath at that.  _ ‘Bet it’s better than the aliens on Moth 4XJ. Just because their goop heals doesn’t mean it tastes good.’ _

Danny grinned brightly. “I remember being on Moth! That was the first planet out of our galaxy!”

_ ‘Our first fight in space too. Thank god for Kyal. If it weren’t for em, you would have been fucked.’ _

“Kyal…?” Danny frowned. “Who’s that?”

_ ‘I guess you wouldn’t remember. You were injured and ey healed you, and me as well. And well, we kind of...” _

“...You slept with the goopy alien?”

_ ‘Ey’re sweet! And ey thought I was cute so…’ _

Ego giggled, awkwardly sprawling starself over Danny and Brian on the couch. “I don’t remember you ever mentioning Kyal.”

Brian sighed. ‘ _ I have sex like a quarter as much as Danny and you two insist on dragging all of it out of me.’ _

“Because Danny literally wrote ballads about all of his sex adventures. Sexventures. Sexcapades. Sexnanigans. Sexcurrences.” Brian put a hand over stars face, rolling his eyes. Then he yanked his hand away, making a face as he wiped the purple spit off on stars shirt. “Sexploits. I’m done now.”

Danny laughed loudly. “He’s right Bri! Of course you don’t have to tell us if you don’t want to, but it’s kind of nice to know more about you. Sexual encounters change you, I know that. Sometimes not as much as… what Onyx did, I’d hunt xem down if xey were alive, for the record, but it’s interesting to know. Especially for someone as seemingly stoic as you. Even to me, you’re still a mystery sometimes.”

Brian sighed, one hand on Ego’s hip, the other holding Danny’s hand. ‘ _ Well, I guess Oliver the bartender on earth kind of counts, but I mostly just blew him in an alley and that’s it. But… Danny and I ran away from our clans together after meeting on a mission. We were on the run, though Danny was working on his music stuff. Through shenanigans, we ended up with a ship thanks to TWRP, running away to space, just to be sure we wouldn’t be caught.’ _

Brian sighed as he leaned against the wall, standing in a small market on the surface of an overheated planet. He was sweating under his mask, his clothes sticking to his skin. His earlobes ached where they’d been pierced, typical for those travelling. Automatic translators were fascinating. Brian had snagged an extra pair to study later while Danny had gotten his tongue pierced when they touched down.

Speaking of, Danny was practically prancing around the market excitedly. Brian shook his head as he watched. ‘ _ Remember you have a budget. We want to actually be able to afford fuel when we need it. We still have a long way to go.’ _

Dany turned to peer at him. “We… don’t have a set location or anything. We’re drifting, Brian.”

_ ‘We’re drifters with a half empty tank and technically. We aren’t drifters. We just don’t know where exactly we’re supposed to be going. I don’t want to get stranded in the middle of an asteroid belt, and we can only walk on so many planets we encounter.’  _ He made a face as he stepped in a puddle of thick goo, which was being trailed by many vendors and customers. He figured they were the main inhabitants, curiously eyeing them. They were bipedal, and seemed to excrete the goo from their skin. They also had three eyes, which fascinated him.

“Well, regardless, we’re here now. Why don’t we enjoy ourselves? We’ve never been so far from Earth!”

Brian’s stomach twisted at that, maybe some form of homesickness. But that was stupid, you couldn’t be homesick for somewhere that had never felt like home. He just rolled his eyes, making sure it was directed directly at Danny, following after him. Danny inspected everything curiously, something Brian may have found endearing if he wasn’t so on edge.

His head snapped up at the sound of an explosion. Luckily it was far enough away that it didn’t appear to harm anyone, but Brian couldn’t be sure. He dropped to one knee immediately, dropping his head and crossing his forearms to protect his head as the wind created by the explosion blew past, knocking down tents and aliens, sending things flying. Brian brushed away shrapnel from his arms, ignoring shallow cuts that were bloodying the fabric of his sleeves.

He patted himself down, searching for weapons. Unfortunately, it seemed he’d left almost everything on the ship, save for his favorite dagger and, well, himself. With a single glance back to search for Danny, who was stumbling to his feet, he rushed forward.

The explosion had left a large crater in the rocky surface of the planet. He leapt past large boulders, gripping his dagger tightly. He had to be careful, not agile in the heightened gravity that made his leaps shorter, made him slower. As he landed at the edge of the crater, he took a deep breath, centering himself as much as he could, getting a feel for the energy flowing through him. It felt… different, maybe with the new gravity, the different lifeforms.

There, in the center of the crater, was a ship. It had been a crash landing, maybe, not a planned attack. Regardless, he stayed on guard, hopping into the crater and sliding down to the damaged ship, inspecting it carefully. “Bri! What’s going on?” Danny peered down, his face littered with small scratches from shrapnel, and likely there was similar damage on the rest of his body.

Brian squinted up at him, against the harsh red right of the sun. There were other silhouettes, distorted, and Brian frowned, squinting harder to try and get his eyes to adjust. Then he realized his eyes were focused. The other silhouettes were just, well, goopy.

Then the hatch of the ship swung open, hitting Brian in the chin and sending him stumbling back a few steps. He frowned, holding his chin as he flipped his dagger into a stabby hold. A few… well, Brian wasn’t sure how to describe them. They were tall creatures with matted looking fur and bright orange eyes. He flashstepped out to stand by Danny, who offered a shrug.

Brian looked around, his new earrings translating the muttered sounding chatter. He let out a sigh, rubbing his face with one hand. ‘ _ Of course we land on the planet about to break out into war.’ _

“We’re staying to help, right?”

Brian turned to look at Danny with an exhausted and exasperated expression.  _ ‘You… can not be serious right now, Sexbang.’ _

“What? We said we want to help people! So let’s help!”

‘ _ I didn’t exactly have intergalactic politics in mind when I agreed to that! We can’t just join a battle when we don’t even know anything about the two sides. What if we end up siding with genocidal maniacs?’ _

“Brian.”

_ ‘Danny, we can’t-’ _

“Brian, look out!”

Brian was suddenly tackled to the ground, the breath knocked out of his chest as his forehead smacked into the rocky planet’s surface. He could feel the skin split as he began to twist in his captor’s arms, hands grappling for a hold. He smirked when his hand gripped fabric and possibly the fur underneath, using it as leverage to elbow the alien holding him where a human’s kidney would be. He wasn’t sure if he made contact with anything internal, but he managed to loosen their grip and slip away.

Danny was by his side in a second, gripping his quarterstaff tightly. Brian had no idea where he kept it, even collapsed it seemed like it wouldn’t fit anywhere. He wiped blood off his brow with his sleeve, wincing slightly as the fabric tugged at the cut and more blood already staining his sleeves streaked over his face, bending to grab his dagger.

Fuck politics, he wasn’t about to let these bastards get away with this.

Danny swung his staff, eyes steely in a way Brian hadn’t seen since before they’d left earth. There was no time to dwell, and Brian dodged a large fist, not paying attention to the cacophony around them. Well, he paid attention just enough to block a strike aimed at a small gooey child.

He blinked as blood dripped into his eye, gripping his dagger tighter and holding it up in front of himself as he blocked a blow. He slashed the blade across his attacker’s face, cutting through flesh. He made a face at the bright orange blood that began dripping from the wound. Danny flipped over him, placing a well timed kick at their head, knocking them back into the crater.

“That’s two down.” Danny grinned at Brian, the same orange blood splashed on his staff. “Three to go.”

Brian nodded, gathering his energy in his core and glancing up as they were rushed. ‘ _ Cover me.’ _

Danny nodded, leaping up and using his staff to launch himself towards one of the creatures, extending his leg forward to kick the closest alien. However, he just managed to get himself tangled up in his own cape. Brian sighed, bringing one arm back as his fingertips crackled with energy, two of the aliens charging him. He brought his arm forward, aiming the heel of his hand at the first alien’s chest. It connected, sending a surge of energy through them.

Unfortunately, while the surge would knock a human out, these aliens were tougher. And had much thicker skin. All Brian managed was some singed fur. His eyes widened as he tried to mentally readjust, building up a surge of energy. He was too slow, the burst of energy hitting the ground and creating a crater as the alien brought a club-like weapon down on his arm. Brian let out a pained heave of air as he felt the bone break. He slammed his dagger into the gut of the alien, who had gotten caught up in the small crater.

Danny was knocked back by the last one of the creatures after smacking the other over the head with his staff, the added gravity causing him to stumble and hit the ground, head hitting a large stone. ‘ _ Danny!’ _

Brian grasped the alien by the jaw, swinging himself up onto their back. He snarled silently, using his broken arm to hold on, using his uninjured arm to stab at them several times.

Finally, the alien collapsed, leaving Brian covered in orange and red blood, half blinded by the blood dripping from his forehead. He winced as he picked up Danny, heaving him over his shoulder, carrying his dagger and the staff loosely in his hand.

The trudge back to their ship only reminded him how hot he was, sweat trailing down his cheeks, shirt almost soaked. “Wait!” Brian looked up, the door to the ship open in front of him. “Please, he’s injured. I can help.” A lavender alien dressed in tones of red and green ran to them, the same gooey species that had been in the market.

‘ _...How?’ _

“You’re both organic creatures, right?” At his nod, ey smiled kindly. “I can heal organic creatures. And I can already tell he is weakening. You saved my child, this is the least I can do.”

Brian hesitated, but he could feel Danny’s heartbeat where his chest was pressed to Brian’s shoulder. ‘ _ Very well. But don’t try anything.’  _ He led em inside the ship, laying Danny down on his bed.

The ship was simple, two cots in the back, a water generator that used their exhaled oxygen, ample storage space and a bathroom, and the control room. It was just enough room for Brian and Danny, and felt crowded with Kyal. 

Brian eyed em warily, wiping his hands, damp with sweat and blood, on his pants. He went to the control panel to turn on the air conditioner, cooling the air. He knew it was likely selfish, Kyal would be cold if ey were used to the heat of eir planet, but he didn’t care. He wanted to make sure Danny was okay and then get off this stupid planet.

Kyal made a noise akin to retching, spitting out goo that was the same color as eir skin, tinged slightly with green. ‘ _ What… are you doing?’ _

Ey began to spread it on Danny’s head, matting his hair down slightly. “We produce a healing pheromone. It’s most concentrated in the stomach. I could use what’s on my skin, but I worry it won’t be enough to heal your partner’s injuries.”

‘ _ Partner?’  _ Brian’s eyes widened slightly and he shook his head quickly, trying to ignore the stinging pain of the headache that was forming.

“The two of you are traveling together, are you not? Associates? Is that a better term?” Ey glanced up as Danny’s breathing began to sound stronger.

Brian paused, not expecting the question. ‘ _...Friends. Danny and I are friends, I suppose.’ _

Kyal tilted eir head slightly. “I thought that is what partner meant. Your language must be complicated if it has so many words.”

‘ _ Something like that.’  _ He sat down with a tired sigh. ‘ _ I told him we shouldn’t stop on this planet. My intuition is rarely wrong, but he insisted…’ _

Kyal listened with slight interest before reaching to take his wrist. “This is a bad injury. I need you to undress.” He must have hesitated, because ey tugged lightly at his sleeve. “The longer you wait, the less I can do.” Resigned, he stood, taking off his shirt with some difficulty. Kyal helped tug it over his head, setting it aside. “The mask too. Your head struck the ground hard.”

‘ _ The mask stays on. Work around it.’ _ He sat back down, shirtless now.

“Very well, but if I miss an injury, don’t blame me.” Brian winced as ey made another gagging sound, spitting into eir hands. The goop was… cool against his skin, cooler than he anticipated. He let out a soft breath as it seemed to seep into his skin, the bruising fading, the pain dissipating. Ey smeared some on his forehead, his skin knitting itself back together. Kyal inspected the shallow cuts along his arms, carefully rubbing eir hand over his skin.

‘ _ Woah. _ ’ Brian looked at his arm, quietly impressed as he watched the cuts fade and disappear. He was still covered in blood, and now goo, but it was better than the pain that had come from his injuries.

“Where are the both of you from?” Kyal sat down on the floor, looking entirely comfortable and unbothered.

‘ _ Earth. It’s not too far, just a couple million light years away. Our species only recently got off planet, barely a couple hundred thousand miles off the surface, just to the nearest moon. We only got this from some visitors who we befriended.’ _

“Really?” Ey leaned forward slightly, and Brian could just make out gooey wings on eir back, peeking out from where eir sleeve was sliding down eir shoulder. “Who visited your planet? From what I know, planets so underdeveloped rarely get visits.”

‘ _ A small crew from the Starlight Brigade, I think they’re called. I’m still not totally sure what they were doing on Earth, but it sounds like one of them had a vision or something. We’re technically supposed to meet up with them, but they didn’t tell us where to find them.’ _

“Wait, the Starlight Brigade? They’re legends!” Eir eyes were wide. “They could be recruiting the both of you. You’re already adept fighters, if what you did out there is any indication of your abilities.”

‘ _ Huh.’  _ Brian frowned under his mask, using his discarded shirt to wipe some of the goop off his arms. ‘ _ They never said anything about any kind of recruitment. I mean, it’s not like we really had plans or anything. Not dying mostly.’ _

Kyal laughed softly. “That’s never a bad plan. Earth, huh? Barely reaching your own moon, and yet here the two of you are. That is… quite extraordinary.”

_ ‘Danny and I are a far cry from any expected normalcy. _ ’ A small smile played at his lips as he looked at Danny, who looked almost peaceful as he rested, hair matted down with the purple and green goo. ‘ _ He’ll be okay? _ ’

Ey nodded, standing up and gently running eir hand over Danny’s arms, a few small cuts stitching themselves together. “My species is known in the surrounding galaxies for our healing abilities. We aren’t organic like you.”

‘ _ What element is your species based on? Not carbon obviously.’ _

“Sulfur, I think.”

‘ _ That may explain the healing… How long until Danny wakes up?’ _

“It shouldn’t be longer than a sol.” Ey let out a low hum, eyes sweeping over him. “I suppose you don’t have much experience with other species, do you?”

‘ _ Well, not sentient.’ _ His eyes tracked eirs carefully.

“How about I… distract you for awhile?” Ey took his hand, gently pulling him to the control room, gently pushing him to sit. “Is this okay?” Eir hands brushed over his bare arms, eyes locked with his. He nodded, hands finding eir waist. Eir skin, if it could be called that, was smooth, almost slick, though there wasn’t any real wetness on his hands. Ey let out a low sound, pressing eir face close to his neck. Eir legs were pretty, well, gooey, where they pressed his thighs together. It was a little odd, having em on top of him. He was used to being pressed against a wall or on his knees outside, so being actually pretty comfortable was new.

He definitely didn’t hate it.

He blinked at em, slightly confused when ey stood up suddenly. “We can’t exactly do anything with all these clothes.” Ey began to strip off eir clothes with a little hum, watching him take off his pants, maneuvering a little awkwardly. “Are you keeping on the mask? I don’t mind if you do.”

‘ _ Yes.’ _ He didn’t take his mask off for anybody. Even Danny hadn’t seen his face. He slept in it, ate in a different room when he could, only taking it off when he was locked away in a room away from anyone else.

Ey dropped eir clothes to the side, eyes widening slightly when they landed on his cock. “Interesting.” Ey kneeled down between his legs, making him blush and look away. Eir gaze was heavy, curious. Brian felt like a specimen being studies, but he didn’t really… mind that much. It was kind of arousing.

Kyal tilted eir head as ey wrapped a slick hand around his shaft, watching as the head flushed darker. Brian could swear all the blood in his body was in his cock. “Does that… feel good? Or does it hurt?”

‘ _ It feels really good.’  _ His voice, if it could be called that, was slightly strained. He licked his lips, the small motion hidden by the mask. His mouth felt oddly dry, but he wasn’t complaining as ey continued to stroke him slowly.

Kyal had lowered a hand to rub at emself, and Brian watched with mild curiosity. He wasn’t sure what he expected, hell, he wasn’t sure what ey had expected. He hadn’t fully considered what encountering other species would entail, still vaguely mystified by the fact that he was even away from earth. This wasn’t anywhere on his list of possibilities, but he was almost certain this was Danny’s entire list of possibilities.

Pushing away any thought of Danny, Brian leaned back in the chair more, letting his eyes close slightly as he took a deep breath. Kyal’s hand had drifted lower, one of eir fingers stroking along his balls, making him gasp softly. Ey took it as a good sign, touching him curiously and studying his reactions.

‘ _ Kyal, let me touch you. Please.’ _ He looked down at em with an intense gaze. He helped em onto his lap, eyes raking over eir body, fingers trailing up eir pink thigh. It seemed like the goo didn’t secrete from the top half of eir thigh, leaving the skin dry, cool to the touch. ‘ _ How aren’t you warm? With how hot this planet is…?’ _

Ey took a shaky breath, bracing emself by holding his shoulders. “The thick slime we secrete-” Brian took a moment to appreciate how completely unsexy that phrase was. “It absorbs heat, keeping our core cool.” Ey shrugged slightly, letting out a quiet breath as Brian’s fingers trailed higher, eyes scanning for a reaction. Between eir legs was fairly… nondescript, but Brian’s fingers began to find small ridges, right in the space between eir legs.

Ey gasped, gripping his shoulders tighter. “Right… right there… that feels so good.” Ey closed all three eyes, tilting eir head back and humming lowly. The ridges were firm, but seemed to give ever so slightly. They were slick, too, his fingers not able to apply too much pressure in one place before they slid. He focused on stroking the pad of his thumb over the ridges, mentally counting them. There were two rows of the ridges, four in each. They were almost like spikes, though there wasn’t much taper, and the ‘point’ so to speak was blunt.

Ey opened eir eyes again, and they were slightly glazed over as ey looked down at Brian. “Let me try something…” Ey adjusted eir position over Brian, reaching down to squeeze his cock. “Does this feel good?” Ey rubbed emself against him, his cock positioned to rub against eir ridges. It wasn’t like anything Brian had felt, and while there wasn’t much pressure, it still felt good. He nodded, his hands resting on eir waist, eir hips rocking against him.

Of course, there was an insatiably curious part of Brian that meant he was studying eir body. Beyond the fact that they were having sex.

He watched eir chest rise and fall in quiet gasps as they rubbed against each other, which had to mean ey had a similar respiratory system to humans, which did fascinate him a little. He had half an urge to ask em about a thousand questions, just about eir anatomy and planet and culture. He’d have to try and find a book. And then learn a new language.

He let out a tiny huff of annoyance at the thought, but it lined up with a silent moan as Kyal’s hands dragged down his arms, eir body falling closer to his, chest pressed against him. Ey rocked emself down firmer, trying to get more friction against his cock. He held eir waist a little tighter, starting to rock his hips upwards, feeling eir ridges, which felt slicker now, rubbing against his cock.

Brian bit his lip as Kyal let out a quiet cry, dragging eir tongue over his neck. It was a weird sensation, eir tongue different from a human’s. It left a trail behind, thicker than saliva. Eir tongue had an odd texture, like jello, almost. Which, sure, was an odd comparison, but it really was similar.

He moved a hand to eir lower back, which didn’t have much of eir slime on it, he figured since it was typically covered by clothing. He pulled em closer, his chest pressed tight to eirs as he kept thrusting slightly upwards.

Then his brain shorted out as he let out a soft gasp, still thrusting until he came, his cum splattering on her skin and some shot forward onto the control panel. He mentally cursed, knowing it would be a bitch to clean, but just leaned back slightly in the chair, letting Kyal roll eir hips against his until ey shuddered, slumping forward against him.

“I liked that.” Kyal stayed put, chin resting on his shoulder.

They stayed like that for a long few moments, Brian rubbing his hand over eir hip gently, slowly catching his breath. Kyal’s head shifted, eir body in a slightly odd position so ey had eir forehead on his chest. “There’s something… pulsing inside you. I could feel it when I was rubbing on you.”

‘ _ That’s my heart. It sends blood through my body, so I guess you could feel it pretty much anywhere if you were really looking for it.’  _ He took eir hand, guiding eir fingers to press against his wrist. ‘ _ There’s a few places where it can be felt strongest.’ _

“Wow.” Kyal tilted eir head slightly, just feeling his heartbeat at his wrist. “Your species is… fascinating.” Ey looked outside, letting out a small sound. “I believe this is where we part ways. I need to return to my child.”

Brian nodded. ‘ _ Thank you for healing myself and Danny. If we ever return here, may I try to find you?’ _

“I would like that.” As ey got dressed, ey handed a vial of green goop to Brian. “If you’re ever in an emergency, this will heal your wounds. Don’t leave it open and let it dry out, otherwise it won’t heal anything.” Ey closed Brian’s hands around it. “This was… fun. Good luck on your search for the Brigade.” Ey smiled, slipping out of the ship, leaving Brian covered in eir purple goop, which was starting to dry on his skin.

With a sigh, he got up, making sure Danny was asleep before heading to clean himself up.

‘ _ So yeah. Danny could’ve died on that planet. We were lucky Kyal decided to help.’ _

Ego grinned. “Ey decided to help because you saved eir kid. Because you’re such good guys.”

Brian rolled his eyes, smiling just a little at that. Danny giggled, arms still wrapped around Brian’s waist, looking up at him with a love filled expression. “You cared about me, didn’t you Brian?”

‘ _...I never would have admitted it back then. But yes, I supposed I did care about you. Quite a bit. I don’t know what I would have done if I’d lost you.’  _ He paused. ‘ _ Oh my god. I… don’t think I ever told Kyal my name.’ _

“Aw, Bri.” Danny laughed as he nuzzled his cheek against Brian’s shoulder, snuggling up to him as Ego draped starself across their laps again. It was comfortable. Brian tended to find himself a little shocked at just how comfortable he could feel around them, how… at ease he truly felt. He loved them, the mere thought sending a warm feeling through his chest, settling there.

‘ _ Oh, I like you two.’  _ He smiled, resting a hand on Danny’s head to make him laugh, leaning closer. He could hear Danny’s heart thudding if he listened close enough, even without laying his head on Danny’s chest. And Ego… well, stars organs were still a mystery to Brian, but there was stars own unique noises as stars body worked. It was also a nice sound.

“We like you too, baby girl.” Danny squeezed him gently, holding him close as they just rested.

Ego giggled, getting up and stretching, stars shirt riding up just a little to allow a flash of pink skin to show. Danny grinned, and it was a mischievous expression, a little bit like a cat. His hand shot out, patting Ego’s exposed belly. Ego gasped, giggling just a little. “No! That’s my belly!”

‘ _ It’s Danny’s belly now. I think he just claimed it.’  _ Brian smiled slightly, watching as Ego scooped Danny up, shoving stars face into his neck.

Danny squealed, swatting gently at stars head. “Ego! No! I’m ticklish!”

“Why do you think I’m doing this?” Ego grinned brightly, catching Danny in a smooch before pressing his face into his neck again. Brian had been on the receiving end of stars mustache before. It was… very tickly.

‘ _ Dweebs.’  _ Brian shook his head, smiling faintly. He reached for a remote to look through channels on the screen in the lounge. The ship got channels from several different galaxies, though Brian didn’t watch much. Humor didn’t translate well.

He watched Dany and Ego wrestle playfully, Danny pinned to the floor and pushing a hand up against Ego’s cheek. ‘ _ What happened to not using your legs?’ _

“I’m using my arms, not my legs!” Danny shrieked, laughing as Ego buried stars face in his neck. “Ego! No!” He laughed, wrapping his arms tight around stars shoulders. “You’re so mean to me!”

Star laughed, picking Danny up, just dropping him gently on the couch, more or less on top of Brian. “I am not. I’m a perfectly lovely partner who loves you a whole lot.”

“Yeah, yeah, you are.” He stuck his tongue out, snuggling closer to Brian. Ego looked up, watching as Meouch and Havve passed through, bickering about something. “Hey there, done with sparring? What are you arguing about?”

Havve looked over at Ego, tilting aer head slightly. “WE ARE. THE COMMANDER IS BEING UNREASONABLE. THAT IS THE NATURE OF OUR ARGUMENT.”

“Wh-? Unreasonable? You take that back, you sack of bolts!” Meouch crossed eir arms, glaring at aem. “I am perfectly reasonable.” Eir tail lashed irritably.

‘ _ You’re both unreasonable.’  _ Brian rolled his eyes. ‘ _ You cycle through the same 4 arguments every week.’ _

“BRIAN. I HAVE COME TO CONSIDER YOU MY ALLY, PERHAPS MY FRIEND. BUT I WILL NOT ALLOW THIS SLANDER TO STAND. I AM INCREDIBLY REASONABLE.” Havve stood slightly taller, glaring at Meouch when eir tail swatted against aer many arms. “KEEP YOUR TAIL TO YOURSELF, MANGY STRAY.”

Ey gasped, visibly offended. “I’m not a stray, you- you, clod!

Brian had to keep himself from laughing when Ego muttered ‘That’s my word,” sounding offended.

Danny grinned. “Come on, guys. I’m sure you two can get along for more than five seconds. Please. I have 10 credits riding on you two getting along.”

“...there’s money on it? Shit, can I get in on that? I can totally skew the odds for you.” Meouch grinned.

“That’s immoral.” Danny produced a wallet from… somewhere, pulling out a small piece of paper. “What should I put you down for?”

“Hm, 45 credits for us getting along for a whole day.” Ey slung an arm over Havve, who eyed em with distaste.

“I WILL BE RUNNING ANTIVIRUSES. DO NOT INTERRUPT.” Ae shrugged Meouch off, heading out of the lounge towards aer room.

Meouch huffed. “No idea what aer so… up in arms about.”

Danny snorted. “Dude. That’s hilarious.”

‘ _ No. No it is not.’ _

Meouch stuck eir tongue out, flipping Brian off. “I’m a joy, and you know it.” With that, ey left the room, tail flicking softly behind em.

“Ey kind of are a joy.” Ego grinned. “Ey’re super entertaining. Way better than my home planet.”

“Aren’t you and Strive from the same planet?”

“Eh,” Ego shrugged. “Strive is from a… colony, kind of, of my planet, where our species is from. Except they’ve been on a different planet so long that I guess we’re not the same species?”

‘ _ Wild.’ _ Brian shifted, trying to get more comfortable. ‘ _ I’ve always found the whole, like, division of species kind of fascinating.’ _

Ego snorted. “Duh. You asked Kyal anatomy questions while y’all were fucking.”

‘ _ It technically wasn't… fucking, I don’t think? There was no real penetration. ...I wonder what oral would have been like with em.’ _

“I take it ey weren’t the only alien you had sex with.” Danny giggled. “You mentioned someone called Pix?”

‘ _ Pix was pretty recent. I didn’t meet him until like, our second mission up with the Brigade guys. I guess after Kyal was… Kexe. I met ver at a refuelling station on that little planet with the fruit bushes, do you remember?’ _

Danny nodded. “Oh yeah! It was really nice there.” He paused. “When did you find the time to have sex? We were there for like… a couple hours! And I wasn’t even away from you that long.”

‘ _...Uh. We were kind of… behind the refueling station’ _

“...You fucking exhibitionist.” Danny giggled, covering his mouth to muffle it as Ego stared incredulously.

“Holy shit dude. That is… not something I would’ve expected of you. Especially not before we met. When you met, you were so stoic.” Ego took on a lower voice, puffing out stars chest. “I’m Brian, I don’t care about you or anything you’ve done. Blah, blah, blah, I’m stronger and faster and smarter than you and have a muscular butt.”

‘ _ You think I have a muscular butt?’ _

“Uh, have you seen your butt?” Ego giggled. “It’s a great butt. I would smash.”

“Same.” Danny giggled, blowing a kiss to Brian. “But please, tell us about fucking outside a refuelling station. That sounds wild.”

Brian sighed, letting his head fall back dramatically, eyes closing softly. ‘ _ Fine. It was probably a month after that battle. Danny and I were still kind of just floating through space, hopping between galaxies as we tried to figure out where the Brigade was…’ _

“How’d we run out of fuel so fast?” Danny tapped the gauge that showed their tank was running practically on fumes, frowning as he looked out at space.

Brian raised an eyebrow. ‘ _ We’ve been running on low fuel for like, three weeks. I know you were out for a few days, but we both knew that we were starting to run low.’ _

“I just… thought maybe we would have more time.” Danny sighed. “I’ll check our credit balance. Maybe we can afford to totally fill our tank and get some food.”

Brian nodded, sighing softly. He honestly doubted they’d be able to afford it, but he’d taken some smaller jobs on planets they landed on, so they weren’t entirely broke. He was sure they could get by fine. Maybe he could find a hit job or something just to make sure they could make it to… well, wherever they were going. He looked up as Danny came back, holding a small tablet. “Well, we’ve got 400 credits. That should be enough to fill the tank, and maybe if food is cheap, we can get enough for a week or so.”

Brian nodded, already deep in thought as they entered a pink planet’s atmosphere. ‘ _ I’ll trust you to buy food. Try to keep it under 40 credits if you can. The ship will take an hour and a half to completely fill, but then we shouldn’t need more fuel for awhile.’ _

Danny nodded. “Do we need the helmets for this planet, or will we be able to breathe?”

Brian took the tablet, tapping on it for a moment. ‘ _ Should be good. It looks like there’s plenty of oxygen in their atmosphere.’ _

“Great!” Danny was practically bouncing as he stood by the door as Brian landed at the refueling station.

Brian shook his head, but didn’t say anything, just watching as Dan excitedly left the ship to go explore. He trusted Danny… enough, he supposed. He just hoped he wouldn’t go over budget. Fuel was most important.

He stepped out of the ship and stretched, smiling lightly. The planet was lush with life, a sweet smell in the air. His feet sunk slightly into the pink grass as he hooked the ship up for refueling. Their ship was far from the largest at the station, but most didn’t let their ship almost entirely run out of fuel before stopping to refuel. Not that Danny and Brian had a choice. They didn’t exactly have a stable income. Or much of an income at all.

He rolled his eyes, leaning back against the ship and lightly closing his eyes. This Starlight Brigade better hire them.

The planet reminded him a lot of earth as he just let the breeze sweep by, swirling around his body. The sun wasn’t intense, just pleasantly warm. There were even clouds, which he’d found himself missing. Of course, he didn’t know if the clouds were actually water, but it was a nice thought. He missed rain.

Brian smileed under his mask as he remembered sparring in the rain with Aria when they were early recruits. They could get away with a lot more back then, and sparring in the rain, with mud messing up their clothes and puddles splashing under their feet was fun. At one point, she’d even tackled him into the mud as the rain pelted them, and they’d laughed. It was one of the last times he’d genuinely laughed.

He opened his eyes again when he heard a noise and felt someone watching him. Purple eyes with slit pupils stared back. “Hello there!” Brian blinked as an alien approached him. A very fluffy alien with dark blue fur mottled with green.

‘ _ Hi?’  _ Brian tilted his head slightly, more confused than anything else at being approached out of the blue. ‘ _ Do you need something?’  _

“Not particularly. I’m Kexe. Couldn’t help but to notice your ship from over there.” Ve pointed to vir own ship over at another refueling pump. “You’ve got an older model, I see. I haven’t seen a Facade in years, let alone one in this condition!” Ve grinned, vir toothy smile stirring up… something in Brian’s stomach.

‘ _ Oh, uh, I’m Brian. This isn’t really my ship, it was loaned to me. I… don’t know much about ships, I’m afraid.’  _ He looked up at the ship, a Facade, Kexe had called it. ‘ _ I mean, I’d never been off planet until recently.’ _

“Really? Where are you from, then?” Ve tilted vir head.

‘ _ Earth. It’s in a system in the Milky Way.’ _

Kexe’s eyes widened. “Really? That galaxy has so little movement most planets have written it off.”

‘ _ Well, there’s only life on one planet in my system, and we’ve only really gotten to the nearest moon. Aside from myself and my, uh, my partner, who were in the right place at the right time, I guess.’ _

Kexe grinned. “Incredible. I’m from Alera, it’s… not exactly close to here.” Ve chuckled. “I create star maps, so I’m all over the galaxy. You wouldn’t believe some of the places I’ve been.”

‘ _ I’d love to hear stories. I haven’t been many places, after all.’  _ Brian smiled under his mask, following Kexe to a bench off to the side.

“Well, just this last week, I was updating a map of the Halo Nebula star system. One of my favorite planets in that system is Geonia. It’s this rocky, aquatic planet, with a hell of a view of the stars. While I’m not one for swimming, my fur takes forever to dry, just floating out in a lake and watching the stars is incredible. There’s these creatures that live there, that swim through the water and will just surface next to you, it’s incredible.”

Brian nodded, listening with rapt attention. ‘ _ How far is the Halo Nebula?’ _

“Not far! Just a couple thousand lightyears, actually. If you have time on your trip, it’s totally worth the detour. Where are you headed anyway?”

He gave a slightly sheepish smile, even if it was hidden. ‘ _ Well, I’m not completely sure myself. My partner and I were approached by the Starlight Brigade on earth, and we’re kind of drifting, trying to find them.’ _

“The Brigade, huh?” Kexe tapped vir chin with a claw. “Stay here a second.” Ve headed back to their ship, disappearing inside for a moment and coming back with a map and what looked like a pen. Ve circled a cluster on the map. “You’re here in the Southern quadrant. The Starlight Brigade’s main ship tends to center in the Eastern quadrant up here, though they patrol and fight all over. It’s a journey, but your ship is in pretty good shape as it is. You’ll of course have to make stops for refueling and supplies, but this is the safest route, and the main ship is your best bet.” Ve continued to mark up the map. “There’s a few rocky parts. Literally, some asteroid belts, and some dangerous territory.”

Brian nodded, watching vir write on the map. ‘ _ This is really kind of you, Kexe. This map is going to be so helpful. Without it, we’d probably end up over in the Western quadrant. I’d… love to thank you.’ _

Kexe grinned. “Well, I can’t just let ya get lost in space. If you caught the Brigade’s eye, there must be something special about you.”

Brian wasn’t sure if he moved first or if it was Kexe, but then they were making out. Kexe had slid Brian’s mask up, just over his mouth. It was far more face than he’d shown in years. But something about it felt so right, the way vir sharp teeth tugged ever so slightly on his lips, almost breaking the skin, but not quite. Vir hands had rough, calloused paw pads, one hand holding his face.

Brian’s hands found vir tail, which was soft and blue and fluffy. It was an interesting sensation under his hands, but the heat in his stomach was starting to build up, heart racing as Kexe tugged lightly at his shirt. “Tell me, Brian. How does this feel?” Ve pulled back with a bright grin.

‘ _ It feels… really good, Kexe.’  _ The way ve was holding his cheek was almost painfully intimate, which almost struck Brian as odd, but he decided not to dwell too much. ‘ _ But we can’t just… do this out here.’ _

“Oh, someone’s shy,” ve teased softly. “Come on. I’ve stopped on this planet a few times. Most only stop to refuel.” Brian pulled his mask back down over his face, getting up to follow Kexe. “When will you need to be back to your ship?”

Brian looked at his watch which was… probably not accurate to the planet’s time, but still let him keep track of time passing. ‘ _ Knowing him, I probably have a little while, but I don’t want him alone too long. He’s a trouble magnet.’ _

Ve laughed, gently taking Brian’s hand, pulling him behind the building by the refueling station, where a lush field spread as far as the eye could see. “There aren’t a lot of inhabitants here. Pretty much everyone left after space travel became accessible here, so it’s a lot of wide open fields like this. Plus it smells nice.” Ve sat down under a tall plant that didn’t quite look like a tree, but stretched high into the sky and provided shade. And Kexe was right. It did smell nice.

‘ _ This planet really is lovely. And… the company is even better.’ _

“Why Brian! You’ll make me blush.” Kexe pulled Brian closer, to stradder vir lap. “I assume the mask stays on?” Brian shocked himself, shaking his head and lightly pushing the mask up over his mouth, smiling just a little. “Excellent.” Brian sighed into the kiss, his fingers running carefully through Kexe’s fur, fingers brushing against vir ears gently, earning the smallest shiver.

He could feel his arousal growing slightly, but he didn’t… feel embarrassed. He felt surprisingly comfortable around Kexe, something he hadn’t felt in a long time. Sure, being around Danny didn’t send his anxiety running a million miles a second, but he was just a lot to be around sometimes. But Kexe had a very laid back vibe, ve was calm and relaxed, and he liked vir touch.

“Well, I see someone is appreciating this,” Ve practically purred, but vir eyes stopped on Brian’s throat. “...what’s this?”

Brian cringed slightly as Kexe traced the poorly healed scar on his throat with a gentle claw.

‘ _ It’s… an old injury. It used to be worse, hell, it hurt for a long time, even after it healed.’ _

“Well, I know we’re different species, but I believe our anatomy is somewhat similar. It may have to do with the nerves… who did this to you?”

‘... _ I don’t really want to talk about it.’ _ He covered his throat with a hand, looking away from Kexe at the pink grass.

“That’s okay.” Kexe moved vir claw away, and Brian could breathe a little easier, his hands resting on vir shoulders to steady himself. “Do you still want this?” Vir hand was resting on Brian’s thigh, a claw just a hair away from his hardening dick.

‘ _...I want this, yes. Just… no talking about my scars. There are… quite a few of them.’ _

Kexe gently licked his neck, looking up at him with big eyes. “I can do that. Just let me know if I do anything you don’t like.”

Brian let out a soft breath, rolling his hips against Kexe’s, licking his lips. Kexe slid a hand under Brian’s shirt, paw pads a little rough on his skin, but not unpleasant. He lifted his arms up as ve pushed off the shirt. Kexe carefully ran vir hands over his chest and stomach, seeming interested in his body. Which was a nice feeling.

Brian smiled a little as he looked at Kexe’s clothes, unzippig vir shirt carelly. Vir chest was covered in the same blue fur as the rest of vir, but there were small streaks of a lush green. Vir fur was… incredibly pretty. He ran his hands through the fur, earning a soft grumble from Kexe. 

_ ‘Do you not like that?’ _

“No, no, that’s really nice actually.” Ve grinned, kissing Brian again. There was a tease of vir teeth on his lip, sending a wave of heat through him, making him grind against vir with a silent moan. He ran his fingers through vir thick chest fur, which was incredibly soft. He let his hands slide down vir chest, the fur still incredibly soft on vir stomach, but shorter. Vir softness was incredibly comforting, and a part of Brian wondered what it would be like to explore the galaxy with vir, to lay with vir on the surfaces of unmapped worlds and just watch the universe pass them by peacefully.

He shook away the thoughts, reaching down between their bodies to gently feel vir up, hand cupping a distinctive bulge. Kexe giggled. “Getting right to the point, huh? I like that in a partner.” Ve shifted vir pants down, kicking them off to the side. Ve grinned, watching Brian take in their appearance. Vir cock was mostly unsheathed, a deep green color, matching the streaks in vir fur. It looked almost ridged, tapered slightly at the end. Brian carefully took it in his hand, starting to stroke as ve pulled him into a heated kiss.

Kexe let out soft, pleased sounds, a hand sliding down Brian’s side, feeling the curve of his hip and coming to rest on his butt. Brian sighed into the kiss, tilting his head slightly to deepen it, adding more tongue as ve tugged his pants down a little, trying to get them off without breaking the kiss. After a moment of pulling at the fabric and struggling with it, ve pulled away with a slight laugh. “Mind giving me a hand?”

Brian pressed his face into vir shoulder, shifting awkwardly to help vir get his pants off. Ve licked his neck again, vir tongue… rough. Like a fine sandpaper, almost. It sent a tremble down Brian’s spine. He really liked that.

Kexe grinned widely at him, tracing a paw pad over the underside of his hard cock. “You’re incredibly cute. Even without fur.”

Brian let out a huff of a breath in place of a laugh. ‘ _ Maybe you’re cute even with fur,”  _ he teased, giving vir another kiss as he rolled his hips against virs.

“Well then.” Kexe laughed harder, holding his hips. “I see where you’re coming from.” Ve sighed contently as Brian ground down against him, vir tail lightly flicking against the ground. “Feels nice.”

Brian nodded, leaning forward to spread himself open. ‘ _ Do you have any kind of lubricant?’ _

Kexe dug around in vir discarded pants, handing over a small bottle with writing in an alien language on it. “Here you go.”

‘ _ I take it I’m not the only one you’ve pulled behind a refueling station shop before?’  _ He smirked teasingly as he began to finger himself open with faintly blue lube.

“Hey, you’re the first on this planet.” Kexe winked, watching Brian with a faint grin.

‘ _ I’ll take it. Though if I’m being honest, you might be the best lay I’ve ever had already. There’s practically no rush.’ _

“There’s a little bit of a rush.” Ve watched Brian’s eyes roll back slightly in pleasure as vir paw pads stroked over his chest as he fingered himself. “But I’ll take that as a compliment. Are you usually rushed?”

Brian paused to think, frowning. ‘ _ Well, usually. I guess pretty much every other time, it was basically as fast as possible, then going our separate ways. Even last time wasn’t completely rushed, but ey had to leave almost immediately after.’ _

Kexe gently took his wrist to help him finger himself faster, making him give a silent moan, leaning forward, practically slumped against vir. “Well, I think we can spare some time to make this as good as possible for both of us.”

‘ _ That sounds nice.’  _ Brian sighed as he was pulled into another kiss, filling himself with his fingers and kissing Kexe almost desperately, pressing into it deeply. He wanted Kexe to fill him and make him cum. But a part of him was satisfied by just sitting here and making out with vir, the air around them cool and sweet smelling. Kexe’s hips were pressed against his, making his cock practically pulse with need. ‘ _ I want you so bad.’ _

“I want you too, Brian. You smell good.” Ve licked his neck again, drawing a choked gasp.

Brian shifted as he pulled his fingers out of himself, lining himself up and easing down onto vir. It was a feeling unlike anything he’d felt, eyes rolling back as he settled on vir cock for a moment, just getting used to it. Vir paw pads were rough against his back, and he just rocked on vir cock, the ridges pressing against his most sensitive points. ‘ _ Feels so good…’ _ His voice was slightly strained, heat sitting pleasantly in his stomach.

“You feel incredible,” ve murmured, moving vir hands to his thighs, supporting him gently and helping him start moving. Kexe shifted just a little before starting to carefully thrust. Brian let out a silent sound, fingers tangling in vir fur, tugging ever so slightly. Kexe’s claws pressed just slightly into his back, not breaking the skin, but sending slight sparks of pleasure through Brian’s body.

Kexe grinned before kissing Brian. He could feel vir rough tongue against his, and fuck that was a sensation. He would have been moaning, but he could only breathe heavily, knees pressing into the ground as he fucked himself on Kexe’s cock, gasping slightly as vir teeth caught his bottom lip.

‘ _ Kexe, holy shit.’  _ Brian panted for breath as vir cock rubbed against his prostate just right, drips of pre sliding down his shaft. He was going to be sore after all this, but he didn’t care.

“You’re so into this, aren’t you? Knowing that any second someone could find us. I bet you like the idea of it.” Vir grin only grew when Brian nodded faintly, unable to look vir in the eyes. “Maybe you almost want someone to catch us. Your partner maybe? What was his name? Danny?” Vir ears twitched to catch the way his breath hitched, his face flushing a darker red. “I’ll take that reaction as a yes.”

Brian let out a long breath, gripping vir fur tighter. ‘ _ I refuse to dignify that with an answer.’ _

Kexe laughed, mixed with a soft mewl of pleasure as Brian pulled vir fur. “Ever serious, aren’t we? Even when getting pounded.”

Brian rolled his eyes, deliberately making sure Kexe could see. Then he pressed his face into vir neck, panting softly. ‘ _ Harder.’ _ He tilted his head back as Kexe braced virself better to thrust up into him, moving to holding his hips tightly, claws leaving slight indents in his skin, not breaking the skin.

“How’s that, Brian? Does it feel good?” Ve smiled at the nod against vir fur, letting out a soft gasp as Brian kept pulling vir fur. “God, I think my knot is coming out… Can I knot you?”

Brian didn’t quite know what exactly that meant, but nodded eagerly anyway as Kexe’s cock felt like it was swelling inside him, stretching him even more open. He made a face as he got fur on his tongue, but he was more concerned with getting as thoroughly fucked as possible.

And oh, vir cock was definitely getting thicker, pressing against the rim of his ass. He gasped loudly, feeling it press into him fully, stretching him further than he’d ever been stretched. He tilted his head back, biting his lip.

“Oh? Never been knotted before?” Kexe grinned. “It does look like you don’t have one.”

Brian tilted his head back, biting his lip as he squeezed around Kexe’s knot, so completely close to cumming. ‘ _ I’ve never felt any… anything like this.’ _ He gasped when ve wrapped a hand around his cock, starting to gently stroke. The rough texture of vir paw pads just added to everything, and then he was cumming hard, rocking himself on vir knot.

Ve cried out, cumming inside Brian, vir knot keeping everything in him, which was a new sensation entirely. Kexe licked is neck gently as they both began to catch their breaths, just basking in the afterglow. ‘ _ That was amazing.’ _

“I’m almost sad we’ll be parting ways here soon. This was great and… I wish we had the time to get to know each other. You seem… sweet.”

‘ _ I got cum all in your fur.’  _ Brian frowned as he looked down at the white that he’d streaked in vir blue fur.

“That’s alright. I’ll clean off once I’m back in my ship. But… we’re a little bit stuck together, at least for a little while.”

Brian sighed softly, shifting a little to get more comfortable, snuggling up against vir. ‘ _ Good thing you’re so soft, then.’ _

Ve laughed, gently stroking Brian’s hair comfortably. “I’m glad you think I’m soft.” There was a soft rumble in vir chest, like a quiet purr. He laid his head where the rumble was strongest and lightly closed his eyes, trying not to think about the fact that he was basically naked in the middle of a field and full of cum.

It was entirely worth it though, the sun warm on his back, the breeze gentle.

After a little while had passed, Kexe’s knot was shrinking, and Brian was able to carefully slip off of vir. He laid on his back for a moment, making a face as he felt vir cum dripping out of him, onto the pink grass. ‘ _ Don’t know if I like that feeling.’  _ He bent a knee to try and get himself emptied out faster, watching as Kexe got virself dressed again, brushing off vir clothes. He made a face as he sat up, reaching for his pants.

Kexe giggled, handing him his shirt. “You look good like this. All… disheveled.”

‘ _ Aw, thanks.’  _ He grinned, fixing his mask before pulling his shirt on. He was… more sore than he would have expected, but it was still entirely worth it in his mind. He stretched his arms over his head, leaning to press his mask covered face against vir cheek in lieu of a kiss.

Kexe grinned, gently squeezing his shoulder with a paw. “Got the map I marked up for you?” Brian nodded, patting his pocket where the map sat. “Good. I ought to get going… I’m sure my ship is plenty fueled up.” Ve squeezed his shoulder gently. “Maybe we’ll bump into each other sometime. If not, I’m glad we met today.”

Brian bowed slightly. ‘ _ I’m glad too. Thank you Kexe. For everything.’  _ He gave vir hand a small squeeze as they walked around the building.

Kexe waved, heading to vir ship. Brian just stood there, watching vir take off, out of the small planet’s atmosphere.

He sighed, heading over to his ship, smiling just a little as he checked, the tank not quite full yet. Danny was sitting in the ship, flipping through what looked like a romance novel. “Hey! I was wondering where you got off to. I got food!”

Brian nodded, looking in the small, chilled food storage unit. ‘ _ Berries?’ _

“The alien running the place let me try some to make sure they’re not toxic! I don’t think they are.” Danny grinned brightly.

‘ _...great.’  _ Brian nodded. ‘ _ I ran into someone who was making a pit stop. Ve gave me a map that should help us find the Brigade.’  _ He laid the map out on the dash of the ship. ‘ _ We’re probably not going in the right direction. Kexe said that this quadrant here is our best bet at finding the Brigade’s main ship.’ _

“Oh?” Danny wiggled his eyebrows. “Kexe, hm? What else did you learn from this Kexe?” Danny gasped softly. “Ve pronouns, right?” At Brian’s nod, he grinned brightly. “Vir name rhymes with sexy.”

‘ _ You’re a teenager.’  _ Luckily, his juvenile sense of humor made it easier not to blush or give anything away. ‘ _ Apparently, we have an older ship model. Ve called it a Facade. But I guess it’s in good shape, maybe we can get a few gigs on the way, and we won’t be so strapped for credits.’ _

Danny nodded, bouncing a little in his seat. “Wanna break out the cards I brought? We can see how many games of go fish before you go absolutely crazy.”

Brian rested a hand on Danny’s shoulder. ‘ _ I’ll go unhook the ship and pay. But I promise you, I’m already going absolutely crazy in this ship with you.’ _

_ ‘Danny, you’re great, but you know you drove me crazy, right?’  _ Brian grinned.

Danny huffed. “Yeah, yeah. I’m a joy to have around though.”

Ego giggled. “You are.” Star grinned brightly, poking him in the side.

“Hey! That's where I'm sensitive!” He made a face at star, squirming away. “Seriously though, Bri. I can’t believe you just straight up got fucked there. I couldn’t even tell!”

‘ _ I couldn’t sit still for like a week. I was way too sore.’  _ Brian grinned a little, leaning on Danny. ‘ _ I had no idea what ve meant by knot, but it was hot as hell.’ _

“Dude, I’ve laid eggs in you. They’re probably bigger than vir knot.” Ego crossed stars arms, definitely not pouting at all.

‘ _ Your eggs are great, Ego. They’re just different. Certainly not bad, of course.’  _ He winked, grinning as Ego’s pink cheeks flushed darker.

Danny giggled. “Maybe we can find that planet that had all those alien dildos. I’m sure they’ve got some with knots.”

Brian nodded, but put a hand over Danny’s mouth when Strive walked in. ‘ _ Hi Strive we weren’t talking about anything.’ _

Ego snorted. “Dude, Strive’s an entire adult. You don’t have to stop talking because e walked in.”

Strive tilted eir head slightly. “I.. won’t even ask. I just wanted to know if Danny’s leg was doing any better. I saw him hit the ground pretty hard, and I was worried.”

Danny smiled softly. “Aw, don’t worry kiddo, I’m alright. Barry just told me to keep off my feet for awhile.”

Strive nodded, sitting down lightly on a chair. “Okay. I was worried.”

“Aw, you worry about me?” Danny smiled, propping himself up on his elbows. “There’s nothing in this galaxy that could take me down! Especially not a stupid sprained ankle.” He giggled when Brian rolled his eyes, shaking his head.

‘ _ Danny’s fine, don’t worry. He’s a dumbass, but I don’t think even Barry can heal that.’  _ Ego cackled at Danny’s offended expression.

“Sic him Ego!” Danny pouted.

Ego laughed, scooping Strive up and holding em upside down. “Hey!” Strive wiggled in stars hold, kicking as e tried to get away. “Mean.”

“Aw, but Strive, we’re basically best friends.” Ego grinned. “And you’re just so short you can’t reach me anyway.”

Strive pouted, e's hair falling in e's face. “I can do this though.”

“Do what?”

Strive reached down, fingers barely brushing the floor. Then e pushed down as hard as e could, tongue poking out slightly as e somehow managed to flip out of stars hold, landing on eir feet.

‘ _ That was.... Really impressive, Strive.’  _ Brian grinned at em. ‘ _ Where did you learn that move?’ _

“Meouch taught me! When ey first started training with me, ey mentioned that ey’d been a small kid, so ey wanted to teach me how to use my size to my advantage, and to fight the disadvantages!” Strive smiled brightly.

“That’s your kid alright.” Danny patted Brian’s knee, giggling.

‘ _ Strive is not my kid. ...I mean, e kind of is. But shut up.’  _

“Can I call you dad?” Strive grinned, and it was so heart wrenchingly genuine and cute.

Brian sighed. ‘ _ Fine, I’ll be your dad. I thought the TWRP guys had that covered?’ _

Strive raised an eyebrow. “A robot with an only barely repressed urge to commit murder, a leonian with an entirely cocky personality who is probably fucking eir bass, mothman, and… well, Doc Sung is his own entity. I’m not sure she’s technically qualified to fly a speeder.”

Brian pointed to himself. ‘ _ And a mute ninja who constantly threatens to kill his airhead boyfriend?’  _ He pointedly ignored Danny’s offended noise.

“...I’d still pick you over Meouch.”

‘ _ Fair enough. Your bedtime is 9 now.’ _

“I’m 22.”

‘ _ I’m your dad.’ _

“Damn, I should’ve Ego.”

‘ _ By extension of me, also your parent.’ _

“I’ll take you out for a nice, uh, sport game… sport.” Ego looked at Danny. “Did I do it? Am I an earth dad now?”

“...yup.” Danny was barely suppressing his giggles as he watched them. “Am I also a dad or am I just the cool uncle?”

“Cool?” Strive grinned.

“...Who let this sassy child in here?” Danny only pouted a little at that, crossing his arms. “I’m supposed to be resting anyway, I don’t need this toxicity in my life.”

Brian patted his head. ‘ _ I won’t let my child hurt you anymore. You could throw him after all.’  _ Danny and Strive gasped at the same time. ‘ _ That wasn’t a suggestion!’ _

Strive grinned brightly. “Can we try it, Danny?”

“Absolutely-”

“Not.” Ego shook stars head. “I don’t think either one of you would get out unscathed. E’d hit the floor before you could even pick em up enough, and you, Danny would throw out your back.”

“Fuck you I’m not old.” Danny pouted. “I could totally lift Strive! E’s like… not heavy. And I’m a strong boy.”

“I’m not saying that you’re not strong or that Strive isn’t a slender kid. I’m just saying neither one of you have brain cells.”

“Says you.” Strive huffed. “If you won’t throw me, I’ll ask Havve.”

‘ _ Not if I ground you first.’  _ Brian smirked, raising an eyebrow at em.

“Dad, no!” Strive grinned. “What about you? You could maybe throw me. You’re a little short, but I’ve seen you fight. You’re strong.”

‘ _...I’m not short. You’re just mean.’ _

“But would you throw me?”

‘ _ What’s with this obsession with being thrown?’ _

“I’m a rebel now. I’ve got a tongue piercing and everything.”

‘ _ Strive, I’m the only one here that doesn’t have a tongue piercing except for Havve and Phobos. And that’s only because two of us don’t even talk and the other has a computerized voice box.’ _

“A rebel.” Strive grinned. “I’m a rebel dad. It’s not a phase.”

‘ _ Oh my god. Go to your room and read a book or something.’  _ Brian shook his head as he waved Strive off, who laughed loudly, sticking his tongue out at Brian as e walked out.

“E’s a good kid.” Ego grinned. “I like that kid.”

Danny nodded. “Strive is really great. And e’s so talented. Bri, you were on the mission when they found em, right?”

Brian nodded. ‘ _ E was in a skipper e’d found on es planet. E’d never even flown before, es ship didn’t even have any guns. If it wasn’t for em, we wouldn’t have taken down that destroyer. It was a huge step forward for us.’ _

“Man… surviving out there without guns is hard enough. To dodge that many shots without one has got to be even harder.” Ego shook stars head. “E’s insanely brave. Thank god e’s on our side, am I right?”

‘ _ We’d be screwed if e was on the other side.’  _ Brian smiled. ‘ _ We’re definitely lucky to have that kid working with us.’ _

Ego nodded, snuggling into Brian’s side. “And you two are both forces to be reckoned with. As someone who is constantly reckoning with you two, I’d know best!”

Danny nodded. “Oh, absolutely. You’re the best at reckoning.”

‘ _ I don’t think you’re using that word right.’ _ Brian grinned, but was poorly hiding it with his hand.

“We do too. It means reckon. Ing.” Danny smiled innocently, and Brian just rolled his eyes, giving him a quick kiss on the lips.

Ego pouted. “You’re going to just kiss him? Without kissing me? When I’m right here!” Star pouted until Brian leaned forward, resting a hand on his thigh as they kissed sweetly. “That’s what I’m talking about. Smooches for everyone!” Star wrapped an arm around Danny’s shoulder, pressing a kiss to his lips. “You’re stunning.”

“I really am, aren’t I?” He blepped his tongue out, very cute. “But I guess you’re pretty cute too, with your long hair and good butt and soft lips.”

‘ _ Y’all are gay.’  _ Brian was messing with his tablet, a bored expression plastered on his face, but the corner of his mouth was twitching slightly.

“And you said y'all. Touche.” Danny winked. “So I’m still super shocked that you did it with a cat alien behind a fueling station. Is it something you’re into? Exhibitionism?”

‘ _...I guess? It’s kind of thrilling, I guess, like, the idea of possibly being caught, you know? At the time, I think the idea of being caught by Danny was more of the idea. It was… insanely embarrassing and I never would have admitted it at the time, but it’s probably why I was so into it. Considering I was still kind of full of cum when I got back to the ship…” _

Danny’s cheeks flushed softly. “Oh… That’s actually… incredibly hot dude. I almost wish we’d been together back then, I totally could have like, eaten it out of you or fucked you all over again.”

Ego smirked. “Add some eggs into that mix, huh?” Star squeezed Brian’s thigh, smirking at him. “Bet you would’ve just about melted at any touch at that point.”

‘ _...perhaps.’  _ Brian blushed softly. ‘ _ Obviously I would love to have been with you two back then, but… I think there’s a part of me that’s glad we didn’t get together until much later.’ _

Ego tilted stars head. “Really? Why is that?”

‘ _ Think about it. Obviously I wasn’t ready for a relationship. The only thing I was in before I got with you two was entirely toxic. My idea of what a relationship could be was warped. I mean, being with Kexe was the first time I ever had a real connection with a partner. Ve was so… kind and it was wonderful. Of course we couldn’t last, but Aria disappeared, Onyx was… awful, Oliver, I just blew the guy in an alley, and Kyal didn’t even learn my name. I take the blame for that, but still.’  _ Brian shrugged. ‘ _ I had to figure myself out before I could ever be ready to be with someone else for real, and be… well, happy in it.’ _

Danny hugged him tightly. “You’re right. Sometimes… I think about all the time we spent together, but… not dating, and consider it a waste. But it wasn’t. Especially in the beginning, where we could hardly stand each other, we had to learn to be together, before we could really… be together. And you know what I was like. I was so… eager to be out and explore the world that I kind of disregarded everything.”

Ego hummed. “Dude, compared to the two of you, I was fucking great. I was just kind of chilling and doing real good for myself. Once I joined the brigade, I think… that’s when I found myself. Then you two showed up, and I learned something else about myself. I find ex-ninjas so fucking hot.”

Danny snorted. “Good. Because we’re totally the hottest ones on this whole ship.”

Brian shook his head. ‘ _ And you’re still so humble, aren’t you?’ _

“Yup!” Danny sighed, putting his legs over the back of the couch. “I’m hungry. Do we have any blue bread?”

Brian smiled, ruffling his hair. ‘ _ I’ll go grab something for you. Ego, want anything?’ _

Star shrugged, stealing Brian’s spot as soon as he stood. “Sure. I’ll take whatever.”

Danny snuggled himself into Ego’s chest, smiling as Ego began to gently mess with his hair, twisting the curls carefully.

Brian poked around in the kitchen, smiling when he found some leftover meat, making a few sandwiches with the bright blue bread, filling a few glasses with water.

When he got back, Ego and Danny were totally making out, Danny on stars lap, holding star around the waist. ‘ _ I was gone for less than 5 minutes.’ _

“You were telling sex stories. You started all this.” Danny pouted, but brightened up when Brian handed him a plate. “Ooh, thanks!”

Brian huffed a silent laugh, sitting down with them.

Ego took a bite of stars sandwich, humming. “Any more stories, Bri?”

‘ _ A few. I mean, I guess my hookups were kind of more frequent until we found the Brigade ship. After getting here, I only had like, one. Then you two ended up convincing me that you’d be real good to date.’  _ He grinned at the stuck out tongue from Ego. ‘ _ Well, I guess Danny and I managed to pick up a gig on a small planet. It was one of like, 15 planets around its sun…’ _

Brian sighed as he left the ship’s controls with Danny, changing into a slightly cleaner outfit. ‘ _ I don’t want to do this tonight.’ _

Danny giggled, a sound that was… significantly less grating than it used to be. “Aw, come on Bri. We’re getting a bunch of credits for this gig! Maybe you’ll find a cute alien to hook up with! And if not… well, it’s a bar. I’m sure there’s some kind of drink that’ll get you plastered enough to forget.”

‘ _...You’re not entirely wrong.’  _ Brian sighed, fixing his mask over his face and rolling his eyes at how long his hair had gotten. He shuddered slightly, feeling the phantom pain in his scalp.

“I’m excited!” Danny’s voice broke him out of his thoughts. “We haven’t played any music together in way too long!”

‘ _ Well, we have been busy, I guess.’  _ Brian walked back out to the control room, flopping down in his chair. ‘ _ I guess I’m not… not excited about it.’ _

“Way to be enthused.” Danny grinned, tying his cape around his neck. “It’ll be fun! We’ll be down there for a few hours, then we can take off again if you want to leave right away.”

Brian nodded, taking over the controls as he followed their navigator down into a planet’s atmosphere. The bar had writing in alien text, and not for the first time, Brian wished he had the credits for translating glasses. The plants he could see seemed to have a bluish hue to them, making him smile a little under his mask. It wasn’t the rainbow plants that they’d seen on a planet a few galaxies back, but it was still nice.

He slung his keytar over his shoulder, missing his keyboard, but Danny was already off the ship. And he knew that if he wasn’t careful, Danny would get himself into trouble. Not that he cared of course, he just didn’t want to be dragged into it as he inevitably would be.

That’s all it was.

He followed Danny inside the bar, frowning when he noticed the biggest difference between them and the bar patrons. They were short.

Not the patrons. They all seemed to be at least seven feet tall. So Brian did not like having a major lack of vantage. He hurried after the all too familiar mop of curly hair, keeping his stance firm, shoulders sturdy. If nothing else, he had his intimidation tactics. Danny was chatting animatedly with someone, bouncing on the balls of his feet.

Brian could hardly keep up with their animated chatter, doing his best not to roll his eyes. He was going to be polite and amicable for once in his life.

“Bri! Ivel here says that we’re up soon! Ze’s gonna transfer credits to us after our performance, plus we’re allowed to ask for tips! Maybe we’ll be able to get you a pair of those translating glasses you keep eyeing up.” He nudged Brian, who rolled his eyes, leaning back to knock Danny off balance.

Danny yelped, almost falling down. Brian just smirked under his mask, crossing his arms.

He glanced at Ivel, who seemed to be bartending, mixing drinks. He and Danny had only really been to one or two bars on Earth after breaking away from their respective clans, but this had the same… vibe to it. Too crowded, too loud, and utterly infuriating. At least to Brian. Danny seemed to be wholly enjoying himself, swaying slightly to the music that was playing. 

The music playing was unlike anything Brian had heard before, but it was still… kind of nice. The kind of music he’d want to listen to while training. He kind of missed training, but there wasn’t much room on the ship to work with. Maybe he’d find a planet to land on at some point.

Suddenly, Danny grabbed his wrist, startling him slightly. ‘ _ What?’ _

“We’re on, come on, Brian!” Danny tugged him up onto the stage, which was luckily a few feet high, giving them a slight vantage point over the crowd. Danny took the microphone as Brian hooked up his keytar, subtly rolling his eyes as Danny introduced them.

“Good evening to all, and we thank you for your kind welcome. I’m Danny Y. Sexbang. The Y stands for you, in me.” A quick glance at the crowd showed that it probably didn’t translate quite right. At least it was more confusion than offense.

“And this is Ninja Brian, my sidekick!” Brian elbowed him in the side. “Fine, my partner. And we’re here to rock your bodies for the evening. Get ready to feel absolutely pleasured.” He practically purred the last part before gesturing to Brian, who started to play.

He just focused on playing the right chords as Danny sang, clearing into it as he started to bounce slightly, clearly where he belonged in the spotlight. His cape caught the light, sending spots of blue light dancing around the stage, reflecting on the walls. Brian wouldn’t admit it out loud, but Danny was… honestly beautiful. He soaked up the energy around him, reflecting… the best.

Brian shook his head just a little, looking away at the crowd as he played, perfecting his piercing stare. From the time he was little, he’d worked on not blinking for extended periods of time. His eyes met an almost as piercing eye, bright pink. It was honestly captivating, holding his attention easily. A tall alien was standing in the back of the bar, listening to their set.

He held her gaze until the song ended, looking down long enough to change his hand position, but when he looked back up, the alien was gone. He looked around the crowd, but couldn’t find that pink eye again.

Danny was belting out an 80s ballad he only vaguely remembered from childhood, not that he remembered much of anything from back then. But it was a nice enough song, not difficult to play. He definitely missed his keyboard.

He wondered if anyone on the Starlight Brigade played music. It would be cool to combine some styles, maybe some old pop with the newer intergalactic styles. Maybe he really was just as big of a nerd as Danny always claimed.

The pink eye eluded him for the rest of their set, but he saw a flash of it as Danny was taking his third bow. ‘ _ Come on, let’s drop our stuff in the ship, then you can do your flirting like always.’  _ He tried not to let Danny know that he secretly wanted to find the alien who’d caught his eye, but Danny was so distracted that he didn’t seem to notice if anything was off.

Thank fuck.

He ushered Danny out of the bar, opening their ship’s door and hurrying in to drop his keytar. Danny giggled, watching him. “Hot date tonight?”

Brian tugged his mask to hide his blush, flipping Danny off. ‘ _ Fuck you, I haven’t gotten drunk in far too long.’ _

“Alright, alright.” Danny sauntered after Brian, messing with the hem of his cape. “I’ll behave, don’t worry.”

‘ _ You better. Be back in the ship by sunrise.’ _

With that, he hopped out, heading back into the bar. A quick scan of the crowd did nothing, bodies blocking his view easily. He huffed in annoyance, taking a seat at the bar. Not even a minute had passed, and a purple hand slid a mug in front of him. “You look like you need a drink.”

He looked up, the pink eye meeting his gaze. ‘ _ It’s you.’ _

“General Galya, nice to meet you.” She held out a hand with a small smirk. “Ninja Brian, right?”

He made a vague hand gesture. ‘ _ Technically. Disgraced Ninja might be more appropriate.’  _ He shook her hand, smiling when she laughed.

“I like that. Just for that, I’ll drop the formalities. Just Galya. Only for you though.”

‘ _ Well, aren’t you sweet.’  _ He slid up his mask just enough to take a sip from the mug. It tasted fizzy, and kind of like… maple syrup. Well, he wasn’t complaining. Not at all.

“Few get to see this side of me. Maybe I’m weak for musicians.”

‘ _ I’m flattered.’  _ He grinned, wondering if this was how Dann felt when he was flirted with. It… was kind of a nice feeling, he couldn’t lie. ‘ _ Are you from around here?’ _

“I’m from this system, but like, two planets closer to the sun. My species kind of populates the whole system here. I’m sort of a bounty hunter, just taking jobs here and there. I’m not picky if it means I collect some credits along the way, you know?”

Brian nodded. ‘ _ Why do you think my partner and I are here? We’re heading to the East Quadrant, but we’re pretty low on funds.’ _

She hummed, knocking back the rest of her drink. “I’ve never heard music anything like what you were playing. Where are you from?”

‘ _ Earth, out in the milky way galaxy. The music we were playing is inspired by what was popular there about… 30 years or so ago.’  _

“Really? Fascinating. Are you and your partner bounty hunters too?”

‘ _ Not quite. I’m not really sure what we are, but we take quick jobs here and there to keep our ship fueled up. We’re supposed to meet up with the Starlight Brigade, but it’s a bit of a journey just to find them. We played some music back on Earth, but were kind of on the run, so we weren’t able to do a lot with it.’ _

“The Brigade, huh? I have a few connections there. Sung, he’s up near the top, used to be a good friend of mine. They actually helped me get my name out there and find work when I was just getting into the game.” Galya grinned. “Of course, there’s the natural connection between those of us with only one eye.” She tapped the metal eyepatch covering one of her eyes.

‘ _ Sung? I met him on Earth. She seemed… interesting. Had a very conical helmet.’ _

“Yeah, that’s Sung alright. The guy almost never takes off that helmet. I’m sure it’s changed since the last time I saw her, but it will eternally be funny.” She looked down at Brian. “The East Quadrant then, huh? I take it you’re looking for the main ship?”

‘ _ That’s the idea. I’m just hoping we get there soon. I don’t know how many more games of Go Fish I can handle.’ _

She laughed, lightly punching his shoulder. Well, he assumed it was her idea of lightly, but he was absolutely going to have a bruise. “Come on, card games with that ball of energy can’t be that bad. He seems like the type to be enthusiastic about absolutely anything.” Her smile didn’t even falter when he raised an eyebrow at her.

‘ _ Galya. That’s the problem. He’s too enthusiastic and it is… incredibly grating. That man can only be endearing for so long before you want to just…’  _ He mimed a stabbing motion, making her laugh loudly.

“Is that right? While I don’t doubt you could take him down incredibly easy, space travel sucks when you’re alone.” Brian could see her tongue piercing when she laughed, and he really needed to get used to seeing that. Practically everyone who communicated verbally had them, but he just found it insanely hot.

Maybe he was just sexually repressed.

‘ _ All I’m saying is that if Danny tackles me one more time after a card game, I am completely within my rights to stab him.’  _ Brian smirked, taking another sip of the sweet, fizzy drink.

“I don’t disagree. But sometimes you can get sucked into the long, endress stretches of darkness between stars, when everything is a few million light years apart. It can feel… suffocating. Dealing with that alone has driven some to the edge. And it can be hard to pull yourself back. You’re lucky to have Danny by your side, even if you inevitably clash from time to time.” Galya smiled. “Or maybe I’m wrong and he needs a stab or two.”

Brian looked around and sighed a little when he caught sight of Danny. ‘ _ Well, it might be his lucky night then.' _

Galya followed his line of sight and grinned. “I see he caught Valux’s eye.” Danny was perched on a barstool next to a tall alien with blue skin and what seemed to be spikes all over their body. They were clearly flirting.

‘ _ As long as he’s back on the ship by the time we need to head out, good for him.’  _ Brian ignored the weird pang in his chest, not sure at all where it had come from. Danny getting laid was probably the best thing for both of them.

“Valux is a good friend of mine. I usually grab a drink with them when I’m on this planet. They’re a good guy. Your friend is in good claws. But you know, I’m a little more interested in the claws you end up in.” She was smirking, and Brian had a moment of absolutely having zero idea how to respond to her flirting, and it probably showed in his expression.

‘ _ I… I’m very flattered.’ _

“..but?”

‘ _ There’s no but, I am just… quite flustered right now.’ _ He rubbed his flushed cheek, wincing lightly when he realized he hadn’t shaved, his face stubbly.

“Come with me. We can go somewhere a little less crowded.” She paid for their drinks before standing, offering a hand to Brian. He took it, trying not to show any hesitance. He was honestly very receptive to her advances, but a part of him was worried about Danny, and another part was… almost scared. But he pushed it down, deciding to follow Galya.

She led him out of the bar, holding his hand as she opened the hatch to a ship not much bigger than Danny and Brian’s. It was clearly nicer though. Or maybe it was just cleaner.

“Come on. I haven’t actually brought anyone in here in… well, awhile.” She took off her shirt, and Brian’s face flushed lightly. Aside from her height and the purple tone of her skin, her body seemed fairly similar to a human’s. It was somewhat of a relief. As much as he did enjoy learning new bodies and figuring out what made them tick, this was something he already recognized. Hopefully that meant he’d be able to make her feel good.

Galya sat on a bed, grinning at Brian. “Come here.” She was incredibly toned, certainly more than Brian. He took a moment to admire her body before joining her on the bed, carefully resting a hand on her knee. Galya slid her fingers under the edge of the mask. “May I take this off, or do you want to leave it on?”

Brian bit his lip, thinking a moment. Galya had scars, scars she didn’t seem at all concerned about anyone seeing. He’d been hiding for a long time, his face always concealed, but… maybe it was time to blindly trust someone. ‘ _ You can take it off.’ _

He squeezed his eyes shut as the fabric dragged across his face. Galya was quiet as she set the mask aside, resting a hand on his cheek. “Well, you’re certainly pretty.” She was smiling softly as he opened his eyes. “I wasn’t sure what you might be hiding under that mask.”

Brian smiled a little, feeling her fingers brush over his stubble and old scars, and a hand on his face was… almost a new sensation. At least with nothing covering his face, nothing between her hand and his cheekbones. ‘ _ You think I’m… pretty?’ _

“You’re gorgeous. You seem… self conscious of your scars. I won’t tell you that you’re wrong for feeling that, hell, I’ve been there. But your scars aren’t blemishes or… imperfections. They’re battles you’ve won. Times you faced danger and didn’t back down. And I don’t know about anyone else, but to me, there’s nothing more attractive.”

‘ _...Thanks Galya. That means a lot. Really.’  _ He smiled a little, rubbing his cheek bashfully.

She grinned, and for the first time, Brian noticed her teeth. They were pointed, just a little. Her teeth reminded him of an old story he’d read when he was a teenager, about a vampire. She had vampire fangs. Entirely cool to Brian. She noticed him staring at her teeth and grinned even wider. “Now, I don’t think you came here just to be complimented.”

‘ _ Definitely not.’ _

“Hm. Now, your friend Danny certainly strikes me as the kinky type, but I can’t quite tell with you.”

‘ _ I haven’t gotten many chances to try much out. But I suppose I’ll try anything once or twice.’  _ Brian supposed it could be a bit of a risk to say something like that, but hey, he’d already trusted her to take his mask off. He was about as vulnerable as he’d ever been anyway. Might as well throw some kinky sex into the mix.

She just grinned, leaning down to pull a box out from under the bed, pulling out a bundle of purple rope, just a few shades darker than her skin. “Strip for me.” Her voice hadn’t changed, but something about her expression, just a little bit cocky, a small smirk on her lips, had Brian unquestioningly stripping down, standing up from his seated position on the bed and taking off his clothes as she watched.

Galya stood up once he was undressed, unbundling the rope. She gave a low hum as she began to tie his hands together, binding them together at the wrist. There was a small moment of anxiety for Brian, remembering certain training he’d been through, but… the rope was actually soft against his skin, not scratchy and painful like he’d been expecting.

The rope slid against his skin, over his chest as she moved the ends, tying what felt like… well, like a harness over his torso. He kind of liked how it felt actually. There was something comforting about it.

He let out a choked off gasp as Galya knelt down in front of him, biting his lip as he watched her begin to tie his legs. The rope was... interesting, where it sat around his butt and on either side of his balls. His cock was already getting hard, which Galya grinned up at him over when she noticed.

Brian didn’t know how long she’d been working the rope around his body, but she took a step back, grinning as she took a moment to admire her work. “Now that shade definitely brings out your eyes. You look incredible like this.” It was almost a purr, sending a shiver down Brian’s spine. “Now, lay back on the bed.” Galya watched approvingly, taking off her skirt.

Brian was sure his face was bright red, his cock hard and against his stomach. She trailed a finger over his cock once she was completely undressed. Brian bit his lip as she straddled his stomach, feeling her weight pressing down on him. It wasn’t unpleasant, actually pretty comforting. He hadn’t noticed, but she had grabbed a smaller bundle of pink yarn, gently moving his arms over his head. “I’m tying you to the bed, let me know if it gets uncomfortable.” 

Brian nodded, lighty clearing his throat. ‘ _ This feels… nice actually. It’s… grounding.’ _

“That tends to be the appeal.” She laughed softly, licking her lips. “You look… very good like this. I’m a very lucky alien.”

Brian blushed darker, smiling at her. ‘ _ I certainly feel lucky being under you.’ _

“Oh Brian, flattery will get you anywhere.” She grinned, reaching to slowly stroke his cock, making him arch his back biting his lip hard. “Oh, sensitive.” Galya slid what looked like a condom but was thicker and felt… different over his cock, grinning. “Your species is a little different from mine, but I think I can make do.”

Brian could only watch her, tugging at his restraints slightly. Not enough to break out of them, but the pressure it put on his skin wasn’t unpleasant, just a bite of pain he was chasing. Galya poured some kind of oil into her palm, stroking him slowly. “You’re certainly a little… odd-looking, but I can definitely work with it.”

Brian raised an eyebrow at her. ‘ _ Gee thanks, you’re not bad yourself.’  _ The words were tinged with sarcasm, and she lightly swatted his thigh.

“Oh hush.” She straddled his waist, taking a slow breath before lowering herself onto him. “Oh,” she murmured, taking him in all the way, her hips meeting his. “Oh, that’s nice.” She rested her hands on his chest as she began to move on him slowly.

She was… warm. Brian couldn’t feel her fully, the odd condom muting what he could feel, but it still felt… really great. Brian’s back arched as she rode him, and he was biting his lip, wishing he was able to moan out loud. Galya moved her hips at an almost frantic pace, the ropes rubbing against Brian’s body. It didn’t hurt, the ropes were soft enough that there wasn’t much painful friction, but there was a small amount of heat that the ropes made.

The rope was a nice pressure on his skin, and it made every sensation a little more intense. And god, he was definitely into it. He looked up at Galya through his eyelashes, his body hot. She was heavy, not unpleasantly so, but her weight came down on him hard, he could feel exactly how much give the bed had underneath him. She was so much taller, and he could hardly see her face over the curve of her chest. It was an odd angle, but she was certainly beautiful.

Her breathing was labored, and her body was warm against his. Brian licked his lips, sweat dampening his body as he stared up at her, nearly entranced by her. She really was incredibly beautiful. Her hips came all the way down as she took him in completely, his cock pressed deep inside her. He wasn’t sure what she was used to with her own species, but he had to quietly assume that they were bigger than him. Not that he was concerned. Hell, quite the opposite.

If there was a counterpart to her sex in her species that was bigger than him, well, he was clearly doing a good job with what he had. Galya slid a hand through his hair as she worked her hips faster, and Brian gasped out as his hair was pulled. It was something he’d never thought he could be into again, but tied up under Galya, it sent an intense shiver of pleasure up his spine.

Especially combined with the rope… he tugged harder at the restraints, his heart racing faster. It was incredibly intense. He shifted, allowing the rope to drag across his skin, a little harsher this time as he arched his back up off the bed. He face was flushed, as was his neck down to his chest, where Galya had planted her hands, her long nails biting into his skin just slightly.

A small part of Brian almost wanted to end up bruised from this, though he had a feeling that wouldn’t happen, it was still insanely hot to think about.

Galya moved a hand to her own chest, and Brian could see just a hint of her fangs where she was biting her lip when she looked down at him. He felt… small, almost beneath her. Beyond the obvious fact that he was a solid foot and a half shorter and at least a hundred pounds lighter. She had a look in her eyes that made him feel… well, maybe not inferior, but that she was so much more than him.

He kind of really liked it, but he doubted he’d ever admit it.

But he laid there under her, his hips arched up off the bed, unable to do much more than just take what he was given. His mouth was dry, maybe from his soft gasps as she rode him like her life depended on it. ‘ _ Galya, holy shit, it’s so much…’ _

“I hope that’s a good thing.” She grinned down at him, almost feral, a fire in her eyes. He didn’t think she was wet, he was guessing she didn’t self lubricate like some earthlings could, but she was clearly into it, her purple skin flushed a nice plum shade.

‘ _ It so is, so fucking good.’  _ Brian let out a breath that was almost a whine, his chest heaving as he felt himself getting close, the coil of heat in his stomach getting tighter and tighter.

Galya’s gasps and pants were getting louder too, and while Brian didn’t know what an orgasm from her was like, he was fairly sure she was getting closer to hers too. He bit his lip, and if the metal taste on his tongue was any indication, he’d bitten through it. He swiped his tongue over the bead of blood before gasping, as loud as he thought his body might ever actually allow him, and he was cumming. He still wasn’t sure if it actually was a condom on his cock, but he didn’t care, too focused on the intense orgasm that had him writhing slightly.

Galya cried out, and suddenly she was clamping down on him, and he paused as it felt like something was pressing into his cock. ‘ _ What’s that?’ _

Galya was panting softly, catching her breath. “What, the vaginal spines?”

‘ _...what.’ _

“Yeah, spines clamp down after an orgasm. Some get them removed, but it’s a messy surgery that can go really bad.” She slowly pulled off him, the… Brian supposed it was more of a protective sheath, coming off as she did so. “You looked rather sensitive. I figured you’d rather not have several sharp spines driven into you.”

‘ _...this is why I really need to start asking about anatomy. Last time I got knotted, now I almost get my dick skewered.’  _ Brian squirmed slightly as Galya leaned over him to start untying the knots. ‘ _ Do they clamp down even when you’re, you know, jerking yourself off?’ _

“Tactful,” she teased. “They do. That’s why you have to use protection for your hands or use a specially designed toy. Some are like, super pliable, which is hard to get angled right, some are just a super expensive regenerative material. That’s why it’s easier to fuck an unsuspecting alien.” She sat back as she untied his wrists from the bed. “Well, not really. I really thought you knew, Brian, I’m sorry.”

Brian flexed his wrists, the skin rubbed red where the rope had been tied. ‘ _ Nah, it’s okay. I’m not worried. My dick is intact, after all.’  _ He stood up when she motioned for him to, carefully undoing the rope harness and setting the rope aside.

“I’ll wash that later. Would you like a drink?” Galya pulled on a thin shirt, not bothering with undergarments or pants.

‘ _ That would be nice. I’m not sure if I trust myself to walk yet anyway.’  _ He began to redress himself, hesitating as he picked up his mask. He could hear Galya rustling around somewhere else in the ship, deciding to set the mask back down. He was going to leave his face uncovered. It was a thought he hadn’t had in a very long time. It was… nice.

Galaya sat on the bed with him, handing him a bottle of fizzy liquid. It tasted like the drink she’d bought him in the bar, but… fruity. He couldn't figure out what kind of fruit it reminded him of, but it reminded him of fruit in general. It was definitely tasty.

Sitting next to her, it was even clearer how much taller she was, but it was still comfortable. He leaned against her slightly, smiling when she draped an arm around his shoulders. She was incredibly toned, but it was incredibly comfortable to lean against her. They didn’t talk, sitting in comfortable silence as they sipped their drinks. Brian couldn’t help a soft yawn, covering his mouth to try and suppress it.

Galya looked down at him, and her expression seemed… anxious, almost panicked. “What was that? Are you okay?”

He smiled a little at that. It made sense, but it was… endearing. ‘ _ I’m okay. Just a little tired. I guess I’m more worn out than I thought.’ _

Galya nodded, looking relieved. “Ah, okay. Do you want to stay here and rest?”

‘ _...How long until sunrise?’ _

Galya checked a tablet. “Not long. Do you need to get going to your ship?”

‘ _...probably. Danny would never let me live it down if he got back before me.’ _

She hummed. “Well… thank you for tonight. It was nice meeting you. Good luck on your journey, okay?”

He nodded, standing up and pulling his mask on. ‘ _ Good luck with your bounties. Tonight was great.’ _

With that, he headed out, slipping through the lot that was still full of ships, loud music coming from the bar. He wondered where Danny was, but he really needed to learn to trust him more. Brian just sighed, climbing into the top bunk to rest. He laid on his side, facing the door.

He was woken up awhile later, the door swinging open. Danny was a mess, clothes rumpled, looking bruised, but smiling. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, but Brian just sighed. ‘ _ Have a good night?’ _

“...yeah, I did.” Danny smiled softly before getting into his own bed. “How about we rest for a few hours before taking off again?”

Brian closed his eyes with a quiet sigh, nuzzling his face into his pillow, which was kind of squished and flattened after all the time they’d spent in space. ‘ _ Yeah, I think that’s a good idea.’  _ He yawned, letting himself drift back to sleep.

“So what were you up to that night?” Ego asked, just a hint of teasing in stars voice.

Danny giggled. “Well, is it my turn to tell a sexcapade story?”

Brian rolled his eyes, playfully kicking Danny in the thigh. ‘ _ Whatever, I bet I couldn’t stop you if I tried.’ _

“Can you ever?” Danny poked his tongue out. “Well, after we performed, someone was certainly eager to get away from me, and I decided to order myself a drink with some of the credits we’d been tipped…’

Danny leaned against the bar, looking around. Brian had disappeared on him, and it had seemed like he was looking for someone. Oh well, what Brian did was his business, even if it did seem weird and confusing. Ivel grinned as ze looked over at Danny. “Hey, great performance tonight. Can I get you something to drink?”

Danny hummed, pulling himself onto a bar stool. “What do you have?” He stared blankly as Ivel listed off several things that didn’t seem to translate. “Um… the third one.” 

Ivel laughed heartily. “Alright, coming up.”

Danny kicked his legs as he waited, looking around. His eyes widened slightly when he saw Brian at the other end of the bar, talking to a tall alien. And it looked like he was… flirting! Danny knew him enough to get a good read on his body language. Honestly, good for him.

He looked up in surprise when someone sat next to him. “Danny, right?”

“Uh, yeah! Hi.”

“I’m Valux.” They smiled softly. “I liked your performance. Though I think I liked watching you perform a little more.”

“Oh?” Danny grinned as he got his drink. He took a sip and choked at it. “Fuck, that burns. What is this, everclear?”

Valux laughed. “Oh, someone can’t hold their detrin.”

“...what?” Danny sniffed the drink curiously, cringing at how strong it smelled. “Wow.”

“You had no idea what you were getting into, huh?”

“The words didn’t translate.” He pouted, but smiled a little at their grin.

“I’ll finish this, why don’t I order you something? Something… less strong.”

“Yes please.”

Danny swung his legs again as Valux sipped his drink. “So, Sexbang, huh?”

Danny hummed. “It’s not my real last name, but I bet that was pretty clear. I don’t really… know my last name.”

“You… don’t know your last name?” Valux tilted their head curiously.

“Well, back home, I was… a ninja. And the group I was a part of did…. A lot of crappy stuff. To me and in general, I guess. I don’t remember a lot from before I was a part of them. Brian was too, and I’ve never been really sure what they did to him, but he’s kind of latched to the personality he has from then. I don’t know if it’s a trauma thing, or if that’s just what he’s like.” Danny shrugged, smiling a little when he was given a drink. “All I know is that I was Ninja Daniel, and that’s not the person I am or want to be anymore.”

Valux held up their drink. “Well, then this is to you. The person you want to be, the person you are.”

Danny grinned brightly, tapping his glass to theirs. “Thanks Valux. Tell me about you.” He took a sip of the drink, which was weirdly fruity. He had no idea what fruit though.

“Well, there’s not a whole lot to tell. I’ve lived here my whole life, I work on a nearby planet, building structures. I grew up here and live here.” They shrugged. “Not exciting, but it’s comfortable.”

Danny smiled. “Then it’s a good life. Sometimes I wish I’d gone for a comfortable life, but… I think I’m still happy just fucking around in space.”

Valux raised an eyebrow. “Fucking around, you say? Now is that a literal or physical thing?”

Danny giggled at that, biting his lip. “Well, why can’t it be both? I mean, I’m pretty good at the literal sense. Of course, that’s only if you’re interested.”

Valux leaned down, closer to Danny. “Well, I think I’m certainly interested. How about we finish our drinks, then we can get out of here and you can show me your… skills.”

Danny knocked back the fruity drink, smirking. “Excellent.” He hadn’t really gotten laid in awhile, and he didn’t want to say he was desperate. But he totally was, and Valux was cute and pretty.

Valux grinned, and Danny didn’t swoon when he saw their fangs, but he totally did.

Danny kept swinging his legs, watching them cutely. Valux smiled as they finished their drink, getting up from the bar stool. “Come on, I’ll show you my ship.”

Danny followed them out of the bar, giggling when he noticed their tail. He also noticed that Brian and the tall alien were mysteriously missing from where they’d been earlier, but Danny was done trying to figure out what Brian did with his time. Besides, Danny was pretty sure he was about to get plowed.

Valux hummed, unlocking the door to a small pink ship. It was just this side of cool, almost too cold. But Danny didn’t even think about it, letting himself be pulled over to a bed. “Why Valux, forward, aren’t we?” Even so, he spread his legs a little more, smirking.

Valux laughed. “Oh Danny, I do like you.”

“I bet you’ll like me even more with less clothes.” Danny slid his arms out of his spandex unitard, poking his tongue out as he began to work it down his body, Valux’s eyes tracing the movement. Danny bit his lip, flustered and already more than a little turned on. He could feel his thighs getting sticky.

Valux licked their lips, smirking. “Aren’t you a handsome sight?” They stood up, starting to undress as they watched Danny get completely nude, stretching his arms over his head. “Come here.” Valux ran their hands down Danny’s hips, grinning as he shivered. “Well, looks like you’re… leaking?”

“Not leaking.” Danny lowered himself onto the bed. “Just ready for whatever you’re willing to give me.”

“Damn.” Valux gently ran a finger over his slit. “Wow. You’re definitely… leaky.”

Danny grinned, squirming slightly. “What are you rocking, Valux? Don’t leave a guy waiting.”

Valux laughed, a slightly squirmy blue tentacle dick between their legs. “Well, let’s see how this feels for you.” They slid their tentacle into Danny, making him gasp out and press his head back into the bed. “Woah,” Valux muttered, leaning over Danny, their bodies pressing together as they began to carefully rock their hips, their dick unlike anything Danny had ever felt.

“Valux, please.” Danny’s voice was breathy, his eyes blown wide as he stared up at them. “Feels incredible.” He reached down to rub lightly at his clit, back arching.

Valux nuzzled their face against Danny’s neck, letting their fangs graze his skin and grinning at the loud groan. “Oh, how do you like this?” He bit gently, not hard enough to break the skin, but certainly hard enough to leave a mark.

“Valux! Oh fuck, that feels so good, more, please!” Their dick was moving inside Danny, something he’d never really felt before. Even fingering himself felt nothing like this. This was turning him into a squirmy, wet mess, and he hadn’t felt this good in so long. He bit his lip, pushing his hips up and wrapping a leg around their waist. “Harder, please.”

Valux grinned, gently taking Danny’s wrists and pinning them above his head. He stuck out his tongue, which was several inches long, tapered at the end. He slowly licked Danny’s neck to draw out a long groan before biting again, harder this time. “I’m going to leave you all marked up. Anyone who sees you is going to know exactly what happened.”

Danny squirmed under his hold, tilting his head to make it easier for them. “Come on, Valux, bite me harder, I can take it!” He whined loudly, pulling at Valux’s hold on his wrists, but he didn’t pull hard enough to get out. “Please, fuck me harder!”

Valux grinned against Danny’s neck, this time breaking the skin. Not enough that he bled much, but a drop beaded on his skin, quickly licked away by Valux’s tongue. “God you taste good, Danny.” They thrust their hips harder, making Danny cry out louder. “Man, you must be sensitive.”

Danny just whined out, watching as Valux licked their lips, staring down at him. Valux was taller, but it was so much clearer from this angle, the way their back arched when they bent down over Danny. It was… admittedly really fucking hot, and Danny was falling to pieces at their touch. “I haven’t felt this good in so long… Valux, god.”

Valux grinned down at him, the tip of one of their fangs stained light red with his blood. Danny moaned, a wave of horniness sweeping through his body. Valux nipped lightly at Danny’s throat, just under his chin. “You smell good, Danny.” Their voice was getting a little raspy, and Danny could feel their hips pressing harder against his.

Danny wiggled his wrist out of Valux’s hold, moving to hold their shoulders. The small spikes on their skin pressed into his palms, but it was still good. The slight bite of pain was incredible. Danny was just this side of overstimulated, the part where it felt incredible, like he might be floating just to the left of his body. “Valuxxx,” He whined, arching his hips up off the bed.

Valux was panting softly, their dick twitching inside Danny. “You’re so flushed… that’s good, right?” Valux ran a hand over Danny’s cheek, which had a small amount of sweat sticking to it.

Danny nodded, biting his lip and groaning softly. “It means you’re making me feel so fucking good. Valux, god, I’m so turned on.” Danny coughed a little when a lock of his hair fell into his mouth. “Ew, shit.”

Valux laughed, brushing it away. “Is that right? These wild curls are getting in your way, are they?”

They playfully tugged at the lock of hair, and suddenly Danny was crying out, gasping. “Oh fuck, that’s so good, harder!”

Valux grinned at that. “Oh, you’re into that, are you?” They giggled, tugging on curls on hair, letting a lock wrap around their fingers. “You look so good under me.” They let out a soft moan.

Danny held their shoulders tighter, squeezing his eyes shut and tilting his head back. “Oh, fuck fuck fuck, right there… I’m so fucking close, Valux, please. I need you!”

Valux seemed to brace himself as Danny cried out, tensing up. They paused, looking down as Danny came, cursing and panting. He got wetter, his body going limp under them. “You… didn’t impale me.”

“Nah, that’s more Brian’s speed.” Danny panted for breath, looking up at them. “What… do you mean anyway?”

“There aren’t any spikes inside you.”

“Nope.” Danny tilted his head, opening his eyes and peering at Valux. “...Spikes? Inside me?”

“Guess that’s not a thing your species has.” Valux panted as they pulled out. “Wild.”

“Yeah, your species is pretty wild to me too.” He sat up, rubbing a hand down his face with a flushed grin. “That was… so good, Valux. I’ve never felt anything like that before, it was just… wiggling inside me.” He laughed, leaning back against the cool, metallic walls. “Did you, uh, finish? I can do… something if you want.”

“I didn’t, but it’s okay.” They smiled. “I mean, after all, some of my species would’ve stabbed my tentacle and called it a night.”

“Well, I’m not like that.” It was almost a purr, and Danny grinned when he saw that it definitely had an effect on Valux. He reached out and took their tentacle in his hand, slick with his wetness. “It’s kinda squishy.”

“Ah, yes, very seductive.” Valux laughed, but it turned into a soft sound as Danny began to stroke them softly.

“Hey, say what you will about my dirty talk, but I’ve acquired the skills to make up for it.” He shifted and rolled onto his stomach. “And if you’re sick of it, why don’t you shut me up?” He smirked up at Valux, his hair wild, his neck riddled with bruises, and his wrists red from being held so tight.

They laughed softly, cupping Danny’s jaw gently and pressing a finger into his mouth playfully. They didn’t seem to anticipate the way Danny sucked gently on the finger, looking up at them through his long eyelashes. “Oh fuck,” they whispered, taking the finger out of his mouth and letting him take their tentacle dick in his mouth.

Danny would be lying if he said he didn’t know what his arousal tasted like. He’d licked his own fingers clean before, so he wasn’t unfamiliar with the musky, heady taste. Hell, he’d sucked partners off after being fucked, this wasn’t anything particularly new to him. But there was something unique about Valux, maybe it was the way their tentacle felt in his mouth, or the new taste mixed with his own. Hell, maybe it was the way that it didn’t seem to reach his throat, almost bunched in on itself in his mouth.

Whatever it was, Danny wasn’t going to complain.

He sucked carefully on Valux, one hand holding their thigh, the other sneaking down under his own body. He was still wet from their first round, and sucking them off was only getting him wetter. He shivered as his fingers began to rub softly at his clit. Valux rested a hand in his hair, gently pulling to draw a gasp from him.

Danny pressed himself closer, taking as much of their dick in as he could. His eyes rolled back slightly as he rocked his hips against his own hand. Valux’s fingers combed through his hair, giving the occasional sharp tug that sent pleasure right down his spine. But Valux’s sighs and soft moans were a lovely sound. Danny would’ve sworn he could listen to them all day.

Danny slid his tongue along their tentacle, almost exploratory. It was different from a human dick in so many ways. It was musky, but it didn’t seem to be leaking, and it was soft, almost like he was sucking off someone flaccid. But still way different. Valux was incredibly unique, and Danny already had a soft spot for them. He had to wonder if he’d think about them after leaving.

Then he was hit by an orgasm, hard enough that it was like getting hit in the back of the head.

He choked slightly around Valux’s dick, his fingers shoved deep into himself as he came hard. Valux gasped at the new sensation, their body tensing up. Danny could feel the way they pulled his hair harder, how they bent over his head. They didn’t seem to cum the way he was expecting, but it was like… sucking on a sponge almost, as unsexy as the thought was. He pulled back after a moment, swallowing and licking his lips.

Valux sat on the bed next to him as Danny wiped his fingers on the sheets as subtly as he could. “That was… incredible, Danny.”

Danny smiled, sitting up and rubbing his neck. “Thanks, Valux. It really fucking was.” He grinned, his legs shaky. He had a feeling he’d need to sit there for a little while before he could get back up and get dressed. “Thanks for inviting me over.” He winked as he tucked a few locks of hair behind his ear.

Valux grinned. “Well, you’re certainly a pretty canvas.” They reached over, brushing their fingers over Danny’s marked up neck.

“Mm, I did appreciate those bites. I haven’t cum that hard in so long.”

“I appreciated not having my dick stabbed. Like, the others of my species are certainly attractive, but sex can end up painful.”

Danny laughed. “I’m sure that’s always appreciated.” He cuddled himself into Valux’s side, sighing. “You’re cozy.”

“You’re not so bad yourself.” Valux held him close, closing their eyes lightly.

Danny snuggled into their side, starting to doze lightly. It was comfy, being able to just lay nude with someone in the afterglow. Danny had been on the run or on missions for so long that he’d almost forgotten how nice it was to just lay out with someone and feel that comfort.

He opened his eyes with a yawn after awhile of just restin , squinting out the window he could see. The sky was just starting to brighten, faint blue streaks in the inky sky. He let out a soft yelp, scrambling out of bed. “Danny?” Valux blinked their eyes open, squinting at him.

“I’ve gotta get going. I promised my partner I’d get back by sunrise.” He winced as the spandex clung to his skin as he tried to get dressed in a rush. “I wish I could stay longer, but we’ve got a lot of space to cover.”

Valux nodded. “I’ve gotta get going too… I have a job on another planet.”

Danny kissed their cheek softly. “It was wonderful meeting you. I think this might be goodbye.”

“I think so. Well, I’m glad we got to meet at all.”

Danny smiled at them softly before leaving the ship with a soft sigh. He was… very tired.

‘ _ Have a good night?’  _ Danny looked up, seeing Brian in his bunk when he walked into the ship. He squinted in the dark, frowning when he saw Brian’s arm. It looked… bruised, but he was so tired that he didn’t think too hard about it.

“Yeah, I did.” He groaned softly as he got into his bed, the pillow comfortable under his head, his body going limp from his sleepiness. “How about we rest for a few hours before taking off again?” He wasn’ t expecting Brian to go to sleep, but smiled when Brian agreed, letting himself fall asleep, curled up cozily.

Brian grinned, high fiving Danny. ‘ _ Hell yeah, dude.’ _ He cozied against Ego, who was gently sliding stars fingers through his hair, pressing small kisses to the top of his head.

“We should’ve made it a foursome dude.” Danny grinned, legs slung over the arm of the couch. “Definitely would’ve been hot.”

Ego snorted. “Because you dweebs totally could’ve gotten over yourselves enough for that.”

‘ _ It’s true, but you really don’t need to say it.’  _ Brian made a face at Ego, squirming on him to kick at his leg. ‘ _ Be nice to me and my myriad of issues.’ _

Danny just grinned, stretching his body out so he could headbutt them. “Issues? You? No way.” He poked at Brian’s side to make him squirm, curling up to the other side of the couch.

Ego giggled, watching them. “Ah yes. My two incredibly talented boyfriends. So mature and wise.”

‘ _ Fuck you you’re like 200.’ _

“Fuck you, your planet has long as fuck years.”

“Fuck you, your planet has like… two months in a year.” Danny grinned, clearly enjoying the argument. Maybe he just liked to be included.

“Fuck you, your planet’s ‘months’ are entirely arbitrary. Years? I get it, that’s fair, you go around the sun. Days? Okay, one spin. Speen as Barry likes to say. Months? Why 12?”

‘ _ Ask the cultures that came up with it. Oh. And fuck you. I almost forgot.’ _

Ego rolled stars eyes, stretching out comfortably, feet resting on the table. “Alright. Humans, am I right.”

“Yup.” Ross grinned as xe padded through the room in socks and baggy clothes. “Any of you guys seen Suzy? Sung asked me to take vir out flying, teach vir the controls, yknow?”

Danny shook his head. “No, I don’t think so. Ve seems to keep more to virself… but I think I heard buzzing in the vents. Ve might be hanging out there.”

‘... _ In the vents?’  _ Brian looked up at the air ducts that ran through the ship, keeping the inside the right pressure and providing the right oxygen levels. ‘ _ Do you really think ve’s up there? Why would ve do that?’ _

“Sung did say ve had never really been off their planet. Maybe ve’s nervous and feels more comfortable there?” Danny looked up at the vent covers. “Can I help look for vir?”

Before Ross could answer, Brian cut in. ‘ _ I have a feeling Barry wouldn’t like you up and climbing through the vents. You did promise them you’d take it easy today, after all.’ _

Danny pouted, crossing his arms. “Fine. Only because I hate disappointing Barry. They’re too sweet and have a soft face.”

Ross giggled, standing on the arm of the couch and pushing the vent cover. “They’re pretty cute. I do enjoy smooching that face.”

Brian sighed, getting up. ‘ _ I’ll come with you.’ _

Ross crossed hir arms. “What, don’t trust me?”

‘ _ Not particularly. Well, I don’t not trust you. I just don’t trust some of your judgement.’  _ He smirked.

“That’s totally fair.” Ross kicked hir legs as xe climbed into the vents, pulling hirself up. “If you’re gonna come with me, let’s go already!”

Brian shrugged, climbing up onto the arm of the couch and waving to his partners before following Ross into the vents. ‘ _ Listen for the buzzing. I’m sure ve can’t be too far.’ _

Ross hummed, crawling through the vents. “This is like one of those old spy movies!”

Brian shrugged a little. ‘ _ I never watched many movies, mostly just… documentaries.’ _

Ross groaned. “Ugh, of course one of the only other people from Earth is a total dweeb. You didn’t watch movies?”

‘ _ Ross, I was trained as a warrior, and groomed to join a clan from the time I was born. You think I had time to go out and see whatever spy movie was in theaters in 1986?’ _

“...fair enough, you’ve got me there.” Ross sighed. “But I guess I was just hoping you’d like, get it. Space is amazing and while getting here sucked for me, I’ve come to love it. I just…. miss Earth sometimes. I miss… my family. My sister. They probably have no idea what happened, and I’m wracked with guilt.” Xe stopped, sitting down. “I… wish I could tell them. When the Brigade first picked me up, I tried to steal a ship and go back…” Xe wiped hir eyes. “I almost died, Brian. I ran into an asteroid right near the main ship, Sung had to come rescue me. Do you know what they did?”

‘ _ What?’ _

“She… hugged me.” Ross laughed a little. “I stole a ship, completely totaled it on a tiny fucking asteroid, and Sung hugged me. Said he was so glad I wasn’t hurt. She made me tea and… just let me talk.”

‘ _ I guess you never got the chance to go back?’ _

“No. Sung said it would be dangerous. We’ve mostly taken down the forces of Boredom, but back then, before you, or Ego, or Strive… it was bad. The Brigade had drawn the focus of the troops for the most part. It’s why we stay in this quadrant most of the time. If I had managed to take off for Earth, it’s possible I would have brought destruction there. I could’ve destroyed everything.”

Brian frowned. ‘ _ I don’t know a lot about Earth things. I know about the science of earth, I know about humans, but not as much when it comes to pop culture. I wish I knew more, I do, but… if you’re looking for someone who understands, try Danny. He was as much a fighter as I was, but I know he mostly got a regular childhood.’  _ He reached over, resting a hand on hir shoulder. ‘ _ I hope you find what you’re looking for Ross, I really do.’ _

Ross wiped hir eyes, sighing softly. “Thanks Brian. That means a lot, really. Maybe… someday I’ll be able to go back. Sometimes I wonder if my family gave up and… assumed I was dead, or if they still wonder. I want to give them closure.”

‘ _ They still miss you. It sounds like your family loved you, and… and I’m sure that doesn’t disappear. Even if they accepted that you died, had a funeral, maybe moved forward… it doesn’t mean they don’t miss you, love you. It… just doesn’t work like that. Even when you lose people, they stay with you. If you love someone, if you have family, you know that there’s no such thing as forever, but that doesn’t mean they’re really gone.’ _

Ross laughed, but it sounded a little choked, pain still in hir voice. “Sometimes you just gotta look at the stars to find the people you’ve lost. Literally.”

Brian nodded, smiling faintly. ‘ _ Exactly.’  _ He paused. ‘ _ Do you hear that? It might be Suzy.’ _

Ross tilted hir head, listening. “I think you’re right!” They followed the soft buzzing to a dip in the vents, where a figure was curled up. “Suzy?” Ross asked softly.

Vir head jerked up, and Brian had to suppress the urge to shudder as vir segmented eyes stared them down. Vir skin was… shiny, probably the exoskeleton, and ve had wings and thin antennae. Ross didn’t even flinch, offering vir a kind smile. “Hi Suzy. You doing okay?”

Ve shrugged, looking away. “I’ve never been in open space before. I was like, in orbit once as a nymph, but out here… there’s nothing.”

“That’s not true!” Ross hissed as xe hit hir head on the top of the vent. “Ow. There's plenty out there! You just have to know what you’re looking for.” Ross sat on hir heels, tilting hir head at Suzy. “Sung wants me to teach you to fly a fighter. I can take you out and show you space. It’s really beautiful out there, I promise it is.”

Suzy pulled vir legs tighter to vir body, frowning. “Really? Isn’t it… dangerous?”

“Well, sure it is. Space is dangerous, but just standing on any old planet’s surface is dangerous too. You can’t escape danger, so you might as well embrace it! Take it head on and thrive!”

Brian raised an eyebrow, but he couldn’t deny that xe gave a good speech. So did Sung, come to think of it. Probably an empath thing.

Suzy sighed softly. “...I’m also a little lost. I came into the vents because the ship feels too big, but I think I got turned around somewhere, and now I don’t know where I came from or really where I’m going.”

“That’s okay! Brian here and I can help you out. Just follow us!” Ross turned, making a motion at Brian. “Your turn to lead. Let’s go. We’ve had enough heart to heart in the vents for one day.”

Brian rolled his eyes, not bothering with a response as they started making their way back out of the vents. Unfortunately, one of the vent covers had come loose when he and Ross passed over the first time, and suddenly, there was nothing under him. Brian’s eyes widened as he fell, a hand grabbing his ankle.

Barry yelped, looking up as Brian nearly crashed down on top of them. “...Brian? What… what are you doing?”

‘ _...Um, so Ross and I were looking for Suzy. Ve was hiding in the vents. We found vir! And then on our way back… the vent cover fell.’  _ He pointed out the vent cover that was on the floor by Barry’s feet.

Barry bent down, careful not to stab Brian in the face with their horn, and handed him the cover. Brian mock saluted him before pulling himself back up, awkwardly arching his back He fixed the cover back in place, using his pocket knife to screw it back in. Ross tilted hir head. “You alright?”

‘ _ All good. Just got caught off guard.’ _

Ross hummed, grinning when xe peeked down the vent cover. “Hi Barry! You look hot today!”

“You say that every time you see me.”

“It’s true every time I see you!” Ross giggled, blowing them a kiss before following Brian again.

“Hello Barry,” Suzy called softly, vir voice sounding almost… hesitant.

But Barry just calmly replied with a sweet “Hi Suzy,” which seemed to relax vir.

Brian hopped out of the vents, landing on the couch expertly. ‘ _ We’re back. Suzy was chilling up there and got lost.’  _ He omitted the parts he didn’t know if ve would want the others to know, reaching up to help Ross and then Suzy out of the vents.

Suzy gave a small wave, and for the first time, Brian noticed the odd texture of vir hands. He tilted his head as he looked at them, and ve must have noticed. “Oh, I can climb walls and cling to smooth surfaces and that kind of thing.” Ve reached out to a wall and pressed vir hand down, kicking off vir shoes and starting to climb the wall, vir wings buzzing behind vir as ve found vir footing and stood on the ceiling.

“Woah!” Danny watched with wide eyes, grinning. “Suzy! That’s so cool! And your skeleton is outside which is cool too.”

“Your skeleton is in your body. That’s weird.” Suzy tilted vir head from vir spot on the ceiling. “What’s it like to have a wet skeleton?”

Ego paused at that question. “Huh. No one’s ever asked that before. What’s it like to have a dry skeleton?”

‘ _ Why are we talking about skeleton moisture?’  _ Brian handed Suzy his pocket knife and the vent cover.

Ve shrugged, carefully bending to screw the cover back in place. “Our skeletons are opposite sides of the moisture spectrum.”

“Is my skeleton an endoskeleton?” Danny looked at his hands with wide eyes.

“Technically yes.” Suzy carefully climbed down to the floor, brushing virself off.

“I think that’s enough for one day.” Ross offered hir hand to Suzy. “May I take you out flying?”

“...yes. That would be nice.” Suzy nodded, offering a small wave to the others as ve followed hir out of the room.

Brian settled back onto the couch, lightly closing his eyes as he thought about what Ross had told him. ‘ _ Hey Danny. I think you should take some time to get to know Ross. You two might have a lot to talk about.’ _

“You think so?” Danny looked at him with a slight head tilt. “Why do you say that?”

_ ‘I just think xe would like having someone else from Earth to talk to, and seeing as I was never exactly into much other than training… I know you don’t remember much, but you spent a while getting into all kinds of stuff after we broke away.’ _

Danny hummed, shrugging. “Maybe. I’ll try talking to hir another time. Xe seems pretty cool, and I kinda wish I took time to get to know hir sooner. I mean, xe’s been here longer than us, y’know?”

Brian nodded, and Ego hummed softly. “I hang out with hir sometimes. Xe’s super feisty and likes to wrestle while just hanging out. Xe’s fun to watch movies with, and xe can catch on to games really fast. Is that like… a human thing? Being able to figure shit out?”

Brian shrugged. ‘ _ Well, physically, humans tend to be pretty adaptable, but we’re also pretty vulnerable to stuff like radiation and we need oxygen to breathe. I’m not sure about like, space stuff, since Danny and I have been in space almost as long as anyone in recorded history, and Ross is literally a record breaker as far as we know. I don’t know if that ties into mentally, but I think so?’ _

“Adaptability is a good skill to have.” Ego stretched stars arms over stars head. “Plus humans? You’re pretty cute. I like being around you.”

“Aww.” Danny leaned closer, cozying up to the other two. “Today has been… nice. We haven’t taken many days off before. And learning about Brian’s sex life is incredibly fun.”

Brian rolled his eyes. ‘ _ You’re insatiable.’ _

“You love it, don’t deny it.” Ego laughed and Danny wrapped his arms around Brian’s waist. 

“It’s because we love you!” Danny poked out his tongue cutely. Brian just raised his eyebrow, leaning up to catch Danny in a soft kiss around the stuck out tongue. Danny let out a soft sound, pulling Brian closer to carefully deepen the kiss.

Brian’s face flushed, but he just curled his fingers under Danny’s jaw, pressing his tongue carefully into Danny’s mouth. Danny just moaned, fingers tracing patterns along Brian’s hips, random shapes to send gently tingles along his skin. They could both feel Ego watching, which just spurred them on to put on a show. Danny let out a louder moan as Brian bit his lip.

Ego shifted closer, pressing himself against Brian’s back, kissing his neck and shoulder softly. “You’re both so beautiful,” star murmured. “I love you both so much, love watching you wreck each other…”

Danny pulled away, smiling sweetly. His bottom lip was just a little swollen, red and bruised. “I love you both too, I’m so lucky and happy to be here. Even though I’ve been through so much just to get here… I think I’d do it all again. All the pain, the sadness… it was worth it to be here.”

Brian leaned against Danny, head pressed against his chest. He just held up his had to show them the sign for ‘I love you’, flustered and smiling.

“You’re both so sweet.” Ego snuggled close, lightly closing stars eyes. “No matter what happens, I’m glad we can be here together.”

Brian smiled softly, gently tangling his fingers with Ego’s. ‘ _ You make it sound like the apocalypse is about to hit.’  _ He brought Ego’s hand to his mouth, kissing the back of it gently. ‘ _ I have a feeling the three of us are going to be here… together, for a long long time.' _

“I hope so,” Danny whispered, nuzzling his cheek against Brian’s head gently. “Apocalypse or no.”

Brian lightly closed his eyes, settled comfortably between his partners, listening to the quiet humming of the ship, practically a pulse that faded into the background at all hours. He appreciated it. He opened one eye when he felt Danny shifting behind him, reaching to poke at Ego. Ego squirmed, reaching to poke back at Danny, sticking out stars tongue.

‘ _ You two really can’t just let a nice moment sit, can you?’ _

“I can, but Danny can’t! He started it.” Ego held Brian a little tighter.

Danny huffed. “Ego was crossing stars eyes! What was I supposed to do?”

‘ _ Children, both of you.’  _ Brian covered his smile with his hand as Danny pouted. He leaned back against his chest, shaking his head slightly. ‘ _ You’re lucky I love you both so much.’ _

“Because you could do so much better?” Ego grinned, leaning back. “Though I suppose you did get around, huh?” Star nudged Brian’s leg, giggling softly.

‘ _ What can I say? My ass just won’t quit. Maybe humans are just universally attractive.’  _ He winked, crossing his arms with a smile. ‘ _ I just can’t help looking this good.’ _

Danny nodded. “It’s true. I’ve looked at your ass quite a lot of times since we met. Not once has it stopped looking so damn fine.” He stretched his arms, carefully stretching out his leg, wincing ever so slightly as he moved his ankle. “It’s getting better.”

“That’s good.” Ego took his leg carefully, guiding it so he was resting his foot on Ego’s leg. “It doesn’t look swollen, but there’s a little bit of bruising. You should be fine to walk by the time the ship’s artificial day lights go off.” Star grinned “But for now… Brian should tell us more about his sex life!”

‘ _ I blew Danny last night.’  _ Brian smirked.

“You know what I mean, dweeb.”

‘ _ I do. But I’m going to be a stubborn bastard about it anyway’ _

“That’s about why we should be expecting from you at this point, huh?” Ego laughed, reaching over to playfully push at Brian’s arm.

‘ _ Fine, fine. I guess after I hooked up with Galya, I would’ve met Talula. Ze lived on an aquatic planet, and Danny and I were forced to land…’ _

“Shit, shit shit!” Danny slammed his hands on the controls as the ship was hit by asteroids, sending him and Brian stumbling and unsteady. “We’re not gonna make it much further Brian! Where can we land?”

Brian was rapidly working on their navigation tablet, trying to stay still enough to study the map. ‘ _ If you can get us out of this asteroid field, there should be a planet… there!’  _ He pointed out the window at a tiny planet that was just coming into view. ‘ _ It’s mostly aquatic, but there should be enough land for us to find somewhere to land so we can make emergency repairs. The atmosphere is… pretty similar to earth, actually. Just… more oxygen. Huh.’ _

“Stop rambling about the atmosphere!” Danny snapped, trying to steer the ship, alarms and lights blaring. “I can’t believe you, we might be about to die, and you’re interested in the atmosphere?”

‘ _ Be nice to me asshole.’  _ Brian made a face at him, but most of the bite was lost, his face covered like always. ‘ _ We’ll be fine, as long as you can land this thing.’ _

“I’m trying!” Danny shot him a panicked look, and Brian could feel something… weird in his chest. He walked over and stood next to him.

_ ‘You can do this Danny. I know you can.’  _ He rested a hand gently on Danny’s arm. ‘ _ We just need to stay up for a few more minutes, then we can evaluate and fix things. We’ll be okay.’ _

Danny looked at him, so… vulnerable and trusting. “You think so? We’ll be okay?”

‘ _ We’ve survived worse than this. This is a minor hiccup. We’ll be back in the air and finding the Brigade before you know it. Right now, focus on landing us safely.’ _

Danny offered a small smile, biting his lip as he held the control just a little tighter, upping the thrusters as they approached. Brian watched the planet come into sight, motioning for Danny to ease off the thrusters as the gravity of the planet picked them up. He could see a large piece of land, but squeezed his eyes shut as they got closer and closer. It looked like they were going to crash into a body of water, but Danny managed to pull them up at the last second, and they landed on the island.

“Holy shit,” Danny breathed as they finally touched down, landing safely. “We did it, Brian, we landed.”

‘ _ Told you.’  _ Brian gave him a smug smile, opening the door. The ground outside was spongy, reminding him almost of quicksand, like it might swallow him if he stepped wrong. There were large dents in the ship, and Brian winced as he flipped open the panel over the engine, smoke billowing out.

Danny peered over his shoulder, holding a manual that Sung had given them when they’d gotten the ship. “Oh, this isn’t too bad! I think we have everything we need to fix this on the ship.” He flipped through the manual, humming. “Most of the panel damage isn’t too bad either. The heat panels aren’t damaged, so we don’t have to worry about burning alive. I can probably work some of these dents out, though they’re pretty much just cosmetic. If anything we might just use a little extra fuel on atmosphere entry.” He looked at Brian, who was staring at him in bewilderment. “What?”

‘ _ Sometimes I really do forget how much technical knowledge you really have. You just sometimes come off as so… so…’ _

“Airheaded?” Danny smiled. “I know. I don’t remember much from when I was young… but I’ve always had a knack for machinery. Why don’t you go explore for a little while? I’ll only need a few hours for repairs, then we can take off again. Or… maybe we can stay for a little while, stretch our legs and reminisce about Earth?”

‘ _ That sounds nice. I won’t go too far, shout if you need me.’  _ Brian gave him a small nod before walking off. The gravity was lighter than Earth, but not by much. He took a few moments to get used to the ground and gravity, casting another glance back at Danny, who had tied his hair back and gotten tools out of the ship. He looked… so at ease. It was kind of nice to see, if he was honest.

He looked down into the water, noticing some shadows and plant life at the bed of the water. It seemed like an ocean, though it didn’t really smell salty. He sat down at the edge of the water, reaching out to carefully dip a hand in. It was just… water. It didn’t sting the open cut he’d managed to get on his hand, it didn’t burn his skin, it was just water. At least, he was fairly sure.

If he listened carefully, it sounded like small animals or bugs were living on the island, reminding him so much of… home? He didn’t know if he could call it home anymore.

It hadn’t really felt like home to him, nowhere had. But… being out in space, sitting on a strange planet… he didn’t feel so lost. Being with Danny in their cramped little ship was more home than earth had ever been. The last time he’d been that comfortable had to be… before the clan. Before he started training. Before… he could remember.

He let out a sigh and laid down, the ground shifting fluidly under him. He wondered if he’d ever get to feel that sense of home, of belonging.

And then something grabbed his ankle, and before he could even try to scream, he was dragged under the water.

His clothes were soaked through immediately, and his mask was suffocating, waterboarding him even as he knew he wouldn’t be able to breathe underwater. He clawed desperately, trying to swim up towards the surface, but he’d never been a very adept swimmer, and he was being dragged down by something.

He closed his eyes, trying not to focus on the slight burning in his lungs, having been unable to grab a gasp of air as he was being dragged. He gathered his energy in his core and focused it in his palms, shoving them down to try and get himself back up, up where he could breathe.

The grip on his leg seemed to loosen, and his body lurched upwards, sending him towards the surface. His attempt to swim wasn’t helping much, but the surface of the water was getting closer. He reached up, fingers breaking the surface.

But then he was grabbed again, the air in his lungs running out quickly. He knew using the energy he had was only going to tire him out faster, but as he was being dragged once again, he felt it was his only chance. He didn’t come this far, didn’t survive so much, only to drown on this damn planet.

Another blast of energy from his hands had him approaching the surface again, and he clawed at the water as his body forced him to try and breathe.

Before his lungs could fill completely with water, his head broke the surface. He clambered onto land less than gracefully, his wet mask making it harder to breathe. He ripped it off, spitting out water and gasping for air, choking as he tried to get as much of the water out as he could.

It was definitely not salt water, so he could be grateful for that, if nothing else. He was certain that would burn far worse. Brian was choking, but finally managed to get a full breath in, on his hands and knees as he coughed, spitting out what felt like the last of the water.

He collapsed, laying on his back as his chest heaved, trying to take in as much air as he could. It burned a little, his body shaking just a little as he stared up at the sky, soaked to the bone.

Brian turned to look over at the water when he heard splashing. A head peeked out at him, eyes curious. Brian narrowed his eyes, propping himself up and glaring. “I’m… sorry.” Brian watched as ze pulled hirself out of the water, resting part of hir body on the land. “I didn't know you couldn’t breathe!”

Brian raised an eyebrow. ‘ _ And do you typically just drag strangers into the water without thinking?’  _ He began to squeeze the water out of his mask, his hair plastered to his head.

“Well… I didn’t realize you were a stranger. I have a friend who visits who looks like you. I thought you were them, I didn’t realize you weren’t!”

He sighed. ‘ _ It’s alright. I can’t breathe down there, though.’ _

Ze nodded, looking apologetic. At least, Brian assumed hir expression was apologetic. “I won’t drag you down there again. But what are you doing here? There aren’t usually many visitors on this planet. We’re pretty secluded here.”

‘ _ I’m just waiting for my partner to finish some maintenance. We managed to end up in an asteroid field… it got kind of messy. I’m just waiting for him to finish fixing the damage so we can take off again.’ _

“Oh, wow! So you’re a traveller!” Ze grinned brightly with a mouth full of sharp fangs.

‘ _ I suppose. At least, that’s what I’ve been up to for awhile. I’m Brian. You are…?’ _

“Oh! I’m Talula!” Ze pulled hirself up onto the land, a long, fish-like tail flopping onto the grass. “Again, super sorry about before. I didn’t want to like, suffocate you or anything! Just a friendly greeting for someone who isn’t you.”

‘ _ I see. Maybe double check next time.’  _ Brian laid down again, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked up at the sky. ‘ _...Your planet is really nice, though.’ _

Talula flopped down next to him, and Brian glanced down, noticing a dorsal fin in hir back. “Thanks. I’ve… I kind of want to explore, like you do, but ships don’t get designed for creatures like me. I can’t walk for long. The charm that gives me legs isn’t very advanced.”

‘ _ Charm?’ _

Talula held up a necklace, which had a vaguely fish shaped charm on the end of it. “It helps me focus my energy enough to transform my body. It’s like a rite of passage for my people, but I’ve never fully gotten the hang of it. Even when I am able to transform myself, I still have my gills, so I can't even stay on land long. It’s just not worth the exhaustion for me.” Ze paused. “Not that it’s boring down there! It’s incredible! I just… would love to see what else is out there.”

‘ _ I understand.’  _ Brian nodded, watching the sky. ‘ _ Where I’m from… almost no one leaves the planet. Hell, you’re lucky if you can leave your country. The only reason I’m here is dumb luck.’ _

“No one? Wow. That… is crazy. The universe is so big and no one goes to explore it?”

‘ _ To be fair, they… can’t. The technology just isn’t there yet.’  _ Brian shrugged, even if the motion couldn’t really be seen. ‘ _ But… here I am. Alone in the universe.’ _

“Didn’t you say you were traveling with a partner?”

‘ _ We’re all alone in the universe, Talula. No matter what we tell ourselves, what others tell us, it’s inevitable. Whether it’s the heat death of the universe or getting your throat slit by someone you thought you trusted, we’ll all die. And in that moment, there’s a horrible cold feeling of loneliness. And no matter who you are, what you do, we’re powerless to stop it. Especially if all you’re good for is pushing people away.’ _

“Brian.” Talula shifted closer, the movements awkward as hir tail flopped behind hir. “I don’t know you. But I have a feeling that none of that is entirely true. I don’t know your partner either, but obviously they’ve stuck around long enough to get this far with you. And unless they were the one to try and kill you…”

‘ _ He wasn’t. He’s the one who saved me, and I’m still not sure why. Don’t know why I’m spilling all this to a complete stranger either.’  _ He looked away with a sigh.

“Well, clearly this has been building up. That’s a lot of pressure to create and contain on your own.” Talula’s toothy grin wasn’t unkind, it even put Brian a little more at ease. “If you need to talk, I’m okay with just listening for awhile, maybe offering some advice?”

‘ _ Okay.’  _ Brian bit his lip a moment, letting himself fall into his own thoughts, trying to gather them. ‘ _ I mean, it’s not like I’ve only been attempted to be killed once. I guess the last time just… stuck with me. I was… scared. I’m not supposed to get scared, but I was. I owe Danny so much, more than I could ever give, but I just don't know how to approach him sometimes. I’ve been travelling with him for a long time. Before we left our planet, before the Brigade found us. And I shouldn't be scared to approach him, probably shouldn’t be scared at all. Feelings aren’t my strong suit, my strong suit is fighting, and even that comes into question sometimes.’  _ He let out a silent groan, covering his face.

“Well, you’re definitely a good fighter.” Ze rubbed hir wrist lightly. “You hit me pretty hard when you were trying to get away. But… it sounds like you’ve been through a lot. A lot where you really were alone, not just lonely. But now it sounds like you’re lonely.”

‘ _ Is there a difference?’ _

“Well sure!” Talula hummed. “You were alone back then. It seems like before your partner, you just didn’t have anyone to reach out to at all. And it sounds like even now you have a hard time reaching out, regardless of how you feel towards them. I bet the only reason you’re talking to me right now is because the odds of running into me again are astronomical.” Talula rolled over onto hir stomach, looking up at Brian. “But now you’re lonely. You isolate yourself because you’re scared of forming a connection with someone and them using it against you. You don’t want to be hurt… again. Because you were hurt before, and while you’ve moved on physically, you still don’t know how to move on emotionally.”

‘ _ I really hope this is free therapy.’ _

Talula giggled. “You don’t have to pay me, don’t worry. I’m just a friendly nymph.”

‘ _ Cool.’  _ He let out a long sigh. ‘ _ I just feel broken sometimes. All I can do is fight. I don’t have much else. And it’s not like Danny and I come across many fights out here, aside from a few where we were in the wrong place at the wrong time. I just feel like I never gave myself a real identity outside of my training.’ _

“Then make one now. You’re never too old to discover new things about yourself. Build yourself up! Learn new things and skills.”

Brian nodded slowly. ‘ _ The best time to start is yesterday. The second best time is now…’ _

“Oh, I like that!” Talula grinned.

‘ _ Someone on my planet said that. I’m pretty sure no one is really sure who though.’ _

“But it fits.” Ze hummed. “All you have to do is get introduced to yourself. Like, what are some questions you would have for me if you wanted to get to know me?”

‘ _...If I’m being honest, they’re mostly about your anatomy. But I can see where you’re coming from. I’ve been so focused on what my skills can be used for, not what… they really are. Not what I can do to improve myself and enjoy my skills.’ _

“Introspection is good!” Talula shifted back into the water, arms crossed and resting on the land as ze looked at Brian. “You don’t have to have the answers right now, it’s okay if you have to think for awhile before you figure things out.” Ze stretched, laying back and floating contently in the water, the light striking hir skin. Hir scales gleamed in the light, reflecting soft glimmers of light. “Having all the answers is overrated.”

Brian rolled up his pants, taking off his shoes. ‘ _ I prefer to have the answers.’  _ He stuck his feet in the water, picking up his mask and looking down at it. ‘ _ I don’t know how to approach not having the answers. I can usually… well, fight my way out of the situation. But I feel… clueless.’ _

“Not knowing isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It means that you have so much to learn.” Ze flicked hir tail to splash Brian’s lap gently, a kind expression on hir face. “May I try something?”

‘ _ Depends on what you’re thinking.’ _

“I mentioned that I’ve had trouble changing my own form.” Ze messed with hir necklace. “I have trouble manipulating the energy that controls my form. But I’m pretty good at manipulating the energy of others. Why don’t I change your form a little, take you down to chill out underwater?”

‘ _...I have always been interested in aquatic life. Is it safe?’ _

“Of course!” Ze extended a hand, smiling brightly as ze took it, gently pulling Brian into the water. Brian awkwardly treaded water, watching as Talula reached out a hand, resting it carefully on his cheek. “This might be a little awkward, but push me off if you change your mind.” Before Brian could ask what ze meant, ze was kissing him, and a weird heat was spiralling through his body.

Not an aroused kind of heat, but burning and twisting, and just a little too harsh to be pleasant. Brian twisted and squirmed in hir hold, but didn’t push hir off or try to get away. He just let the heat spread through his body, eyes fluttering shut as he felt his body… change.

His hands became webbed, and he could feel it in his chest as his neck began to grow gills. He gasped, but found he couldn’t breathe, and it was suddenly hard to breathe, his vision blurry. A hand shoved him under the water, and suddenly he could see, water filtering through his gills. ‘ _ What-? _ ’

Talula frowned. “Sorry about that. I guess you’re not used to your anatomy changing.”

‘ _ I can safely say I’m not.’  _ He looked down at his hands, the skin stretching strangely between his fingers, webbing them like a frog’s feet.

“Sorry for that, Brian. But you’ve got gills and your eyes are adapted to see underwater now. And I figured your body isn’t really made for traveling underwater. So… webbed hands.” Talula began to swim downwards, hir tail catching the sun’s underwater trails. Brian began to follow, hardly noticing how odd his clothes felt as he was submerged. “Come on silly! Let’s give you some time to just chill down here. I’ll be sure to change you back to how you were when we go back to the surface, okay?”

Brian nodded, clawing at the water awkwardly, getting used to how his body had changed. The webbing in his hands was definitely allowing him to propel himself faster. Not as fast as Talula, who looked like ze was flying in the water, in hir natural element. He kept finding himself attempting to hold his breath before water filtered through his gills. It was an odd sensation, feeling the water rushing past his neck. But it was a pleasant sensation, the water cool around his body.

Talula slowed as they reached the bottom of the ocean. Brian wasn’t sure if it could be called an ocean, but… he did not give a shit. It was a space ocean as far as he was concerned. His arms were moving slower than usual as he followed after Talula, who stopped in the mouth of a small cave, surrounded by what appeared to be coral. He stopped to inspect a vibrantly colored… organism. He didn’t know what it was, if it was an animal or plant, but it swayed slightly in the current.

Talula giggled. “Come on inside. I just want to grab a snack.”

‘ _ Is this where you live?’  _ Brian’s steps were slow, and it was like he was on a low gravity planet, despite this planet being fairly similar to earth. He looked around the small cave, unable to help his small smile. It was honestly beautiful, chunks of what he could only assume were crystals embedded in the rocky walls. He reached out to brush his fingers over the rough surface.

“Yeah! I found this cave awhile ago, and it just… felt right. Like it could be my home.” Ze swam over to a small side tunnel, Brian following curiously. The crystal was reflecting light all over the walls, acting like prisms.

Talula came back with an odd looking fish, taking a bite of it. “Ready to go exploring? There’s a cool reef not far from here. I have a feeling you’d like it!”

‘ _ Sure. After all, I don’t have any plans.’  _ He grinned, making Talula laugh as they left the cave.

“Come on. It’s this way.” Ze munched on hir fish as they swam, Brian slowly getting used to the feeling, the difference in breathing.

He definitely preferred his lungs. But there was something comfortable about being underwater, something of a slight pressure around his body. It was strangely grounding.

The ground beneath him was rocky, and he watched as the rocks seemed to give way to the reef that Talula had been talking about. The colors were vibrant and the reef stretched out as far as he could see, taking his breath away. ‘ _ Wow.’ _

“Right?” Talula grinned, darting down to the seabed, scooping up what looked like a sparkling shell. “Check it out, an Ikrux must’ve shed here. Their shells are stunning, but pretty uncommon.” Ze handed it to Brian with a smile. “You should take it, something to remember this little planet by.”

Brian gently ran the pad of his thumb over the shell, feeling the ridges. It was remarkably similar to a shell that could be found on earth, but something about it was still so clearly alien. He had to wonder if an ikrux was anything like a creature that could be found on earth.

Before he could let himself start thinking too deeply about evolution, he looked back up at Talula, who was swimming along the seabed again, looking totally in hir element. Brian envied that a little, putting the ikrux shell in his pocket before making his way back to Talula’s side, watching small creatures swim past. They were, like Talula hirself, incredibly reminiscent of creatures on earth, just… different.

Something about Talula was admittedly alluring. Though Brian was still a little put off by being literally dragged down and nearly drowning before they had actually been introduced.

All his hesitation was wiped away in the current when Talula let out a little excited sound, darting down to the seabed. ‘ _ What is it?’ _

“Look at this!” Ze zipped back up, clutching a chunk of coral. “Man, it’s so rare for pieces to just fall off. We aren’t allowed to break pieces off, the coral is super important to this planet. But if they fall off by themselves…” Ze grinned. “I know we just got here but… you stay here, explore. I’ll be back!”

Brian blinked, watching hir zip off. Huh, okay. He shook his head, swimming down to inspect the coral curiously. Some of it glimmered in the light, some seemed to sway in the current. But it was all stunning, reminding him of a story he’d read as a child, about the fish in the ocean. Even if this wasn’t home, it reminded him of a simpler time. He sighed, drifting in the water, looking up at how the light struck the water. It was really beautiful, the rays of light bouncing off the waves.

He just… watched, the effect almost hypnotic. He could just be still for a little while, his clothes billowing out slightly around his body.

And he did stay still, letting his thoughts drift past, as inconsequential as anything. It was an oddly peaceful moment, something he hadn’t had in far too long.

Then a body blocked his vision, Talula smiling down at him. “I guess you decided to just take some time for you, huh? Good for you Brian.” Talula settled down by him, leaning hir head against him. “You’ve never been underwater this long, have you?”

Brian shook his head. ‘ _ It’s certainly different. In… practically every way. It’s certainly interesting.’ _

Talula laughed, nuzzling hir cheek against his. “I like being around you. You’re nothing like anyone I’ve ever met before!”

‘ _ You’re sweet Talula.’  _ He smiled. ‘ _ I like you too. You’re good company.’ _

“You’re nice too. I’ll miss you when you decide to leave. I don’t think your ship is ready yet though… maybe I can give you something to remember me by?”

‘ _ You already gave me the… what was it? The ikrux shell.’  _ He paused when he noticed Talula’s flirty expression. ‘ _ Ah, you’re thinking more of an experience, aren’t you?’ _

Talula giggled, gently pushing Brian so he was laying on the ground, the sand soft beneath him, comfortable. “I was thinking more like an experience.” Hir grin was almost predatory, but it was honestly kind of hot, so Brian certainly wasn’t complaining. He just let hir lay down on top of him, hir tail smooth, cool against his legs. “Of course, that’s assuming you’re okay with it?”

‘ _ More than okay with it.’  _ His eyes shut a moment when Talula rested a hand on top of his head. It was pleasant, his hands finding hir waist, where bare, soft skin gave way to smooth scales. His hands explored below their waist carefully, curious and almost experimental. Talula shifted hir weight to pull at his shirt, grinning wider when Brian moved slightly to help get it off, watching as it slowly drifted to lay in a heap next to them.

“You’re really attractive,” Talula mumbled, more to hirself than to Brian. He watched as ze inspected his body, grinning as he took his own pants off, laying completely nude at the bottom of the ocean. It certainly wasn’t an experience he’d ever expected to have, but something about it was almost liberating.

Talula’s hand lingered on Brian’s chest as ze trailed it down his body, watching his reactions closely. Hir fingers stopped at his slowly hardening cock, gripping it carefully. Brian gasped softly, his hips thrusting up slightly. “Does… does that feel good?” Hir smile grew at Brian’s grin, moving to lay on hir front, pretty much between his legs.

Talula’s hands had an interesting texture to them. It definitely wasn't bed, but it also wasn't exactly what Brian had been expecting as he shifted slightly, the sand beneath him moving and almost burying him slightly. It was… a lot of sensations at once as he let out a silent moan, eyes watching the bubbles that floated to the surface from around them.

Talula had two dicks.

Brian didn’t realize that until he lifted his head, propping himself up slightly to look down at hir as ze continued to carefully stroke Brian. He licked his lips as he looked at them, a small spike of heat going through him. He… was very attracted to Talula, something that hit him extra hard in that moment. ‘ _ Talula…’ _

“Brian.” Ze sounded breathless as ze leaned over Brian, catching him in a kiss, hir cocks pressing against his stomach, teeth catching Brian’s lip gently, the slight pain extra stimulating. He ended up leaning his head to the side slightly, gasping as ze began to leave small love bites along his sensitive neck.

Brian ground his hips up slightly, his cock pressed against hirs. He let out a silent moan, one of his hands digging into the sand beneath him as he let the pleasure run through him. Talula ground back against Brian, hir eyes fluttering shut. “Feels really good…”

Brian just nodded, the breath knocked out of him just a little. He held Talula’s wrists gently as they ground against each other, both just unable to do much other than stare.

Talula reached to touch Brian’s hair, lightly running hir fingers through it, earning a soft sigh, his cheeks flushed pink. ‘ _ You’re incredible… You look especially good from this angle though.’ _

“Well, aren’t you kind? You’re a looker, yourself.” Talula pressed hir hips down against Brian’s again, his cock pressing between both of hirs. “Oh that feels good,” ze murmured softly. “It’s so… warm.”

Talula’s dicks weren’t cold, but they were definitely cooler than Brian’s. It was just another sensation he didn’t think he’d ever really felt before, but how could he have? That was just another thing that made these… flings he’d become somewhat accustomed to so exciting. It was a chance to feel new things, to learn something about a species that no one on earth could know existed, exploring the universe.

Not to mention that he was just horny a lot, so it was certainly helpful in that aspect of things.

He let out another silent sigh, feeling it as Talula wrapped both hir hands around their cocks, letting him thrust his hips. It was an incredible feeling.

Brian watched through half lidded eyes as bubbles rose above them with each breath, stretching up to the surface of the ocean, catching the light and reflecting rainbow colors. God, it really was stunning.

He was really enjoying this planet, and he knew he’d remember this for a long time after he left. And not just because this sex was incredible.

Though that did have a part to play, he couldn’t lie. He could feel sand and stones pressing into the back of his neck as he breathed heavily. He knew his cock was leaking, though he wasn’t sure if it could be seen, immediately washed away by the water all around them. 

Brian reached to take Talula’s cheeks, pulling hir into a deep kiss, pressing his tongue into it. Talula moaned into it, teeth, grazing Brian’s tongue, not breaking the skin, just pressing gently. It was heated and needy, a little bit of desperation as they humped against each other.

He was fairly certain Talula was as into it as he was, able to hear hir soft whimpers and moans into his mouth, feel the way hir hips ground against his. It was fucking hot.

He almost wanted to beg them to bite his neck, feel their sharp teeth dig into his skin, but there was a tiny part of him that was almost worried about the idea. Even if ze had bit at his neck, Brian wanted… more. He wanted to feel it all.

He wanted all of it.

Talula was grinding down harder and faster, both hir cocks rubbing against the soft skin of Brian’s stomach, his cock against the smooth scales and hir skin. He didn’t know how long he would be able to hold back, his breaths getting heavier with each passing moment. His hands dug deeper into the sand beside him, wondering if Talula was getting closer like him, what it would look like when ze reached hir peak.

He bit through part of his lip, tasting metal and the water, which wasn’t salty, but had a distinct.. mineral taste. He could see the red of his blood being washed away by the current, his eyes following the slight movement as he gasped, back arching up off the seabed. A rock was pressing into his hip, and yeah, it was uncomfortable, but god he was getting so close. ‘ _ Talula…’  _ His voice, if it could really be called that, was thick with lust, almost shaking as he got closer.

Talula stroked his hair, breaths heavy. “Brian, fuck, you feel so good…” Hir teeth were bared, and Brian could see just how sharp they were.

And that’s all it took to send him over the edge, making him cum hard between them. The water swept it away, leaving a slight cloud around their stomachs. Talula gasped softly, rubbing back against him needily, hir gasps getting louder. “Oh Brian,” ze cried out, practically collapsing on top of Brian, cumming against him. It was an odd sensation, oddly slick against his stomach. He panted, reaching to hold Talula;s cheek gently.

“Brian, wow…” Talula gave him a kiss, cheeks flushed softly. Brian could feel the slight warmth, a small smile on his lips. “Let’s just… stay for a moment.” Talula closed hir eyes, laying on top of Brian, a comfortable weight on top of him.

Talula was right. It really was nice, laying at the bottom of the ocean, staring up at the gentle rays of light and the bubbles slowly rising to the surface. His hands gently stroked through hir hair, closing his eyes. There was something incredibly peaceful, the water flowing through his gills with every soft breath, Talula’s smooth scales against his legs.

But he knew it couldn’t last. He didn’t know how long it had been since he’d left Danny to work on fixing their ship, and he couldn’t stay here forever. With a soft sigh, he gently nudged Talula and sat up brushing sand off himself. Talula watched as he redressed, pulling his shirt and pants on, offering a sad smile. ‘ _ I have to go, Talula. I wish I could stay.’ _

“I know you can’t. I almost hoped you would.” Talula frowned, looking down. “It’s okay. But thank you for the time we spent together.”

Brian nodded, smiling softly and giving Talula a hug. ‘ _ Staying might be nice.’  _ He sighed as they swam to the surface, Talula pulling Brian into a kiss just below the surface. He felt the same heat as before, his gills fading back into his skin. He gasped as he breached the surface, catching his breath after a long moment. ‘ _ Fuck I won’t get used to that.’ _

“Just because your species isn’t used to morphing your bodies.” Talula giggled. “It was really good knowing you Brian. Good luck on your travels.”

‘ _ I wish you the best Talula.’  _ Brian picked up his mask, which had mostly dried in the time he’d been underwater, pulling it over his head and heading back the way he’d come.

Danny was covered in soot as he worked. His hair was pulled back in a ponytail as he laid under the ship, working on something Brian couldn’t see. ‘ _ Hey Danny, I’m back.’ _

Danny grinned up at him. “Bri!” He paused, taking in his appearance. “Well, your hair has gotten long. And you’re drenched.”

‘ _...I thought I’d go for a swim. It’s so nice on this planet, and I had some time to kill.’ _

“Fully clothed though?” He laughed softly. “You’re an odd one, Brian. I’m glad you’re the one I’m traveling through space with.” He brushed himself off with a grin. “We can take off soon, I’m just about done.” He hummed to himself as he hopped into the ship to look over the controls and double check all the functions.

Brian busied himself with squeezing water out of his shirt, sighing softly. It was odd, he supposed, his and Danny’s friendship. But he found himself impressed with Danny’s abilities. He was truly skilled in his ability to fix their ship. In fast, he found himself realizing as he inspected the panels that if he hadn’t known there was damage before, he wouldn’t have guessed that it had ever been in anything other than perfect condition.

Danny grinned as he stuck his head out the door. “Alright, we’re all set! Do you want to chill out here for awhile, or head back out to space?”

Brian spared a glance out at the water where he knew Talula was, biting the inside of his lip as he thought. ‘ _ Why don’t we keep going? I think we’re almost to the right quadrant. No sense in spending any more time just sitting around.’ _

“Okay!” Danny just smiled as Brian climbed into the ship, heading to sit at the controls. “Go ahead and change into something dry, I’ll get us off planet.”

Brian just nodded, letting out a low sigh as he headed to their sleeping quarters, feeling the ship lift. Maybe he should take some time to get to know Danny better. He’d focus on getting to know himself another time.

‘ _ I guess after that I was more… motivated to get to know Danny. Talula was a good influence on me, I guess. I wish I’d had some more time with hir.’ _

Ego nodded, smiling a little. “I guess we owe hir everything for getting you to consider your own emotions, huh?” Star grinned as star leaned on Brian, kissing his cheek sweetly and giggling. “Now you’re sweet and sensitive and a hell of a lay.”

Brian looked at star and rolled his eyes.  _ ‘I am neither sweet nor sensitive. I’m a trained killer with sharp instincts.’ _

“And a great boyfriend.” Danny hugged him around the waist, giggling. “Man, that really was right before we met the Brigade. We only had to stop a couple more times after that, mostly just refueling, right?”

Brian nodded, letting out a soft yawn as he let himself get cozy against Ego, who was softly running stars fingers through his hair with a soft smile. It was warm, and Brian was tempted to just take a nap right there.

Danny giggled again. “Uh oh, I think someone is getting sleepy.”

‘ _ No I’m not.’  _ He made a face at Danny, but was totally getting just a little sleepy, curling up slightly with his head tucked under Ego’s chin.

Ego grinned. “It’s okay if you are. We think you’re cute. You don’t have to be scared to be vulnerable around us, Bri. We love you.”

‘ _...I love you both too. Enough that maybe I’m okay feeling vulnerable.’ _

Danny grinned, leaning to give him a soft kiss on the lips. “That’s the most romantic thing you’ve ever said!”

‘ _ Oof, I kind of hope that isn’t true.’ _

“He means it in a good way, dweeb.” Ego giggled, stars fingers gentle in Brian’s hair.

‘ _ Oh. Okay.’  _ Brian wasn’t blushing, sighing as he lightly closed his eyes.

Danny giggled, his leg propped up on the small table. There were a few long moments of content silence, warm and welcoming like a favorite blanket at the end of a long day.

It all came crashing down when Phobos walked into the room, reading something. Ze stumbled over something on the floor, flailing. Danny nearly got up, but Brian lightly shoved him down so he wouldn’t get up. ‘ _ Stay off your feet. You good, Phobos?’ _

Phobos frowned, blinking all four eyes up at Brian as he helped zer up. Ze brushed zerself off before starting to sign. ‘I am going to kill Meouch.’ Ze picked up a brush, which was clearly the one Meouch used for styling eir mane.

Danny blinked. “Where did that come from? I didn’t see that earlier.”

Ego shrugged. “Ey might’ve dropped it when ey came through here earlier.”

Phobos shook zer head with a sigh, antennae twitching slightly. ‘See you later, Jazzlan is about to feel my wrath.’

Brian grinned a little at that, Danny snickering. “Jazzlan?”

Brian hid a snicker of his own as Phobos stormed off. ‘ _ Did you not know Meouch’s first name?’ _

“I thought Meouch was eir first name!”

Ego raised an eyebrow, trying not to laugh and failing. “Of course it’s not eir first name. You’re cute, but I wonder what bounces around that skull of yours.”

“...rude.” Danny pouted slightly, crossing his arms. “I’m plenty smart. Meouch just never told me eir first name!”

‘ _ Phobos calls em Jazzlan all the time to get under eir skin. Which is fair, I mean, Meouch did kind of… destroy zer planet. If someone destroyed Earth, I’d work to be their greatest inconvenience.’ _

“Man those guys really have a complicated history.” Ego grinned, leaning against Danny as Brian sat down. “I mean, I knew vaguely who they were when I was recruited, but they don’t really have their history out there, do they?”

‘ _ I don’t know too much about them. Just kind of their vague history. I know Sung has been around literally forever, Phobos is the estranged royalty of zer planet, which Meouch accidentally destroyed with Funk, and Havve… is Havve.’ _

“That does about sum it up.” Ego nodded, humming. “Havve is a cyborg who was repaired by Sung. Ae were frozen for a long time, and only just recently started getting a handle on aer murder urges. Ae’s never even threatened to stab me, which according to Sung is actually a really great sign.” Star giggled. “I mean, ae were the first one I was able to properly have a conversation with. Though Sung was by far the most welcoming, but she’s just like that.”

Brian nodded with a small grin. ‘ _ Sung is something alright. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone quite like him.’ _

“Because the only one like Sung is… well, Sung.” Danny grinned. “A hell of a… well, alien. Hell of a Sung.”

Brian nodded, glancing back when he heard a shriek. A shriek that was distinctly Leonian. ‘ _ Meouch just died.’ _

“Phobos probably shoved eir brush in eir throat.” Ego nodded sagely, leaning stars cheek on stars hand.

_ ‘Good for zer.’ _

“Brian, no.”

Danny snickered. “Phobos has been waiting for an opportunity. Who knew ze had such a hair trigger?”

“Ze’s a menace. Just secretly.”

Brian grinned, draping his legs over the back of the couch and getting comfortable. ‘ _ I always knew there was a reason I liked zer.’ _

“I thought you were just personable and easy to get along with.” That earned Ego a look from Danny and Brian, making star laugh. “Okay, okay, I’m kidding, I’m kidding! You don’t have to look so offended at the notion, Bri.”

‘ _ I have a reputation.’ _

“It doesn’t do you much good here. You’re Strive’s dad, our boyfriend, and generally kind to pretty much everyone on the crew.”

‘ _...I’m mean.’ _

“No you’re not.” Meouch sat down across from the couch, looking distinctly ruffled and grumpy.

“Phobos get to you?” Danny gave his best impression of a sympathetic smile. It was more of an amused smirk.

“Ze’s a jerk.” Meouch crossed eir arms, tongue poking out just a little. It was… almost cute. To be fair, Meouch was, in fact, just a giant kitten.

Brian got up, snatching the brush from Meouch’s paws. ‘ _ You’re a fucking mess.’ _

“Pft, you’re one to talk.” Ey rolled eir eyes, but let Brian start to brush out eir mane.

_ ‘Why do you have this? I swear, it looks like you don’t even use it.’ _

“I have better things to do with my time.”

‘ _ I have half a mind to sic Barry and Strive on you. They’d give you a hell of a makeover.’  _ He lightly swatted the back of eir paw with the brush when Meouch went to grab it from him. ‘ _ You and I both know Strive has been eyeing up your mane from the day e joined the Brigade. And you’ve seen the styles e’s done to eir own hair.’ _

Meouch let out a long suffering sigh. “Fine, but the second you pull my hair is the second I rip your face off.”

‘ _ Aw, the kitten wants to threaten me.’  _ Brian grinned, just carefully brushing, untangling knots.

Ego and Danny watched with wide eyes. “They’re not killing each other.” Ego’s voice was almost a whisper.

“They aren’t.” Danny nodded. “Who are these two, and where did Bri and Jazzlan go?”

“Only Phobos gets to call me that.” Meouch let out a soft snarl. “And only because I destroyed zer home planet. Which was an accident, but no one ever considers that.”

Danny giggled. “Dude, I get that you didn’t mean to, but you still did. Phobos is gonna carry that grudge forever, which is… kinda fair.”

“I know, I know. I deserve it. I did fuck over zer life. But ze could totally cut me some slack. It’s been basically forever since that happened, and it’s the only planet I ever destroyed.”

Brian intentionally tugged on eir mane. ‘ _ Maybe it’s the human or Earth perspective, but that is… so much fucking damage dude. It’s… a lot.’ _

Meouch sighed, idly swiping a paw at his arm. “I get it dude. I’m not gonna be sent to space jail or anything. All I can do is hope that Phobos forgives me someday.”

Danny shook his head. “Best of luck, man. I don’t know how you’d ever be able to accept an apology for something like that though. Maybe it’s just me.”

Brian shrugged. ‘ _ I don’t know man. We come from earth, and we both know that bitch is going down in the hands of other humans.’ _

“Do you have to refer to our home planet as that bitch?”

‘ _ Yeah.’ _

“...Okay.” Danny sighed, rolling his eyes. He watched Brian style Meouch’s mane, twisting some segments into small braids, tongue poking out slightly as he worked. It was honestly pretty cute. Then again that was probably just because he thought Brian was cute in general. He glanced over at Ego, who had made starself comfortable, stretched out in the spot Brian had been sitting with stars legs stretched out as star watched Brian braid Meouch’s mane.

He sighed, leaning over so he was closer to Ego. There was a small part of him that wanted… this. As much as he enjoyed being part of the Brigade, he wished there were more quiet days, days that didn’t always start with training and sparring. Days where they weren’t called out to fight and risk their lives.

He knew it was what he’d signed up for, knew that this is what he agreed to. But he just… wanted more quiet days with his friends and partners. Especially his partners. And a part of him missed earth. He would’ve liked to go back, learn everything he couldn’t remember from before he’d joined that clan.

But that wasn’t possible, he knew that. He had a responsibility to the people of the universe.

And… it was okay, really. He still spent every day with them. Even if it wasn’t exactly ideal, wasn’t a fairytale fantasy, he was still happy.

He laughed as he was pulled into Ego’s chest, strong pink arms around his waist. He snuggled close, careful of h s slightly injured ankle, hooking his leg over the back of the couch. They stayed like that, Ego pressing tiny playful kisses to the back of Danny’s neck, just watching as Brian decided he’d done enough with Meouch’s mane.

Brian grinned as he finished up, Meouch’s mane pulled into a few small braids and a ponytail, all of it pulled away from eir face. Meouch smiled at Brian, a big toothy grin. “That’s actually pretty great, thanks man.”

‘ _ No problem. You should probably wash that mess more though. Otherwise you’ll start looking like Danny.’  _ He smirked as Danny made an offended sound, Meouch chuckling heartily.

“Brian! My hair isn’t that bad!”

Ego patted his curls with a giggle. “Well it’s definitely not great.”

“Rude. My hair is great actually. You’re just mean.”

“Oof, I’m wounded.” Ego pressed a hand to stars chest, smirking just a little.

Meouch raised an eyebrow as Brian took his seat on the couch again. “What have you three been up to today anyway?”

“Well, Danny’s off his feet today, so we’ve just been resting in here. And grilling Brian about his sexual history. It’s actually way more entertaining than I expected.”

‘ _...I feel like I should be offended, but I really don’t know.’ _

“Huh. I always kind of took you for… well, Danny’s polar opposite.” Meouch shrugged. “I assumed that Ego and Danny were, well, your entire history.”

“Nah, this guy totally got around.” Danny slung an arm around Brian’s shoulders, grinning.

‘ _ Oh my god.’ _

“Apparently he hooked up a few times after we met you guys.” Danny kissed Brian’s cheek.

“Oh, was it that time after a mission when you came back smelling like piss and weed?”

_ ‘It wasn’t weed you piece of shit stoner.’  _ Brian crossed his arms.

“I don’t know whether to be intrigued or a little grossed out by you not omitting the piss part.” Ey raised an eyebrow as Brian’s cheeks flushed.

‘ _ Fine, fine. It was a few weeks after we met up with you guys… Danny and I were still getting settled and kind of… well, figuring out our place here, learning the ropes of the Brigade’s routine.’ _

“Recruits, you’re being sent on a mission!” Sung was grinning as he walked into the small kitchen where Brian and Danny were eating a meal of space lizard meat and berries.

Danny looked up and grinned at her. “Really? Where are we going?”

“We’re sending you on a recon mission. There’s been a few signals from a nearby planet, and we can’t quite understand. I’ve heard that you’ve had some luck when you land on planets, right Brian?”

Brian almost choked on his glass of water. ‘ _ I’m sorry, what?’ _

Danny grinned. “Oh, Brian manages to befriend someone on basically every planet we’ve landed on! He’s incredible.”

‘ _ Oh, uh, yeah. I’m… not bad.’  _ Brian lightly cleared his throat. ‘ _ You said the planet was nearby?’ _

“Yeah! We’ll send you in our Star Skimmer. There’s nothing with live ammunition or anything. Just transport. We need you to head down onto the surface and check things out. Brian, since your telepathy won’t work over a distance, we’ll leave the communicator with Danny, okay?”

He nodded, finishing his glass of water. ‘ _ Sounds good. I’ll stay by his side the whole time, don’t worry.’ _

“Good! Finish up here and then meet me in the launch bay. We’ll get you two set up to launch.” He grinned brightly before heading out of the small kitchen.

“Isn’t this exciting Brian?” Danny grinned, popping a berry in his mouth. “Our very first mission!”

‘ _ We went out with Meouch and that… Echo? Last week.’ _

“Stars name was Ego, Brian.” Danny grinned. “And that hardly counts! This is our first time, just you and me.” Danny stood up to take care of the plates. “Try to be a little excited man. This is so great!”

‘ _ I’ll do my best.’  _ He wouldn’t admit the slightly infectious nature of Danny’s excitement, his smile hidden as he pulled his mask down over his mouth. He’d started to get over his preference for hiding his face, but he still wore it most of the time.

He rocked on his heels slightly as he waited for Danny to finish up with the dishes, looking around with a sigh. He liked that the vents were so open, if he was wholly honest. It gave him an easy escape if he ever needed it, which was nice. But he wasn’t going to crawl around in the vents too much if he could avoid it.

Danny grabbed his mission bag, which mostly just had his collapsed staff some freeze dried food and waters in it, slinging it over his shoulder. “Alright Brian! Let’s go!”

Brian rolled his eyes, mostly for appearance reasons, but let Danny lead the way to the ship bay, where Phobos was working on something on a large screen. Ze offered a small wave, which Brian and Danny returned as Sung waved them over. “Hey! Okay, so your ship is ready, and we’ve got your comm for while you’re down there.” She handed an earpiece to Danny, who grinned as he put it on.”

“And I’ll be on the other end.” Echo, no, Ego, stepped forward, a similar earpiece in stars long, pointy pink ear. “If anything goes wrong, we’ve got Havve on standby to come rescue you guys if need be. However… don’t make aer need to rescue you if you can avoid it.”

Danny giggled. “That’s the plan. Don’t worry your pretty little head over us.” He winked, grinning when Ego’s cheeks flushed darker pink.

Sung ushered them into the small ship. “I trust you can fly this?”

“Yup!” Danny grinned, sitting in front of the controls as Brian got in next to him, shifting slightly to get comfortable.

Sung counted them down and motioned for them to take off, Danny letting out an excited laugh as they took off out into space. “This is so exciting! God, isn’t it, Bri?”

Brian nodded slightly, but sighed as he crossed his arms, watching as the planet got closer. Or, well, as they got closer to the planet. It was incredibly green. It distantly reminded him of earth, which he wasn’t entirely sure how to feel about that. He tried not to miss it too much.

But the comparisons to earth seemed to end at green. In fact, that was all he could see. Green. There wasn’t any sign of water, but he assumed life there either didn’t need it, or the water was hidden by the abundant plant life. At least, what he assumed was plant life. Maybe it was like earth plants, or it was so different he wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

He blinked when he realized Danny had been saying his name, elbowing him gently. He shook his head slightly and looked over, away from the planet. ‘ _ Hm?’ _

“Everything okay? You’ve been squirmy and… distant since we took off. I was saying your name.” Danny glanced at him, seeming worried.

And something about that expression being directed at Brian made something in his stomach churn. Like… butterflies that were digesting him back. ‘ _ Yeah, I’m fine. Maybe you were right about this being a big deal. We don’t know what we’re getting into.’ _

Danny smiled sweetly. “Aw, Brian, it’ll be fine! We’ve got our weapons, we’ve got the Brigade standing by. Maybe there’s nothing seriously wrong and we’ll be back to base in like, an hour. We just have to focus on our mission.” He smiled as they entered the atmosphere, heat already seeping into the ship from the outside.

Brian let out a soft breath as Danny steered the ship, finding a place to land. He watched as they set down on the surface with only a little jostling. Danny pushed the hatch open with a grin. “Oh, it smells like after a storm back home!”

Danny was right. Brian took a moment to appreciate the fresh smell before getting out after him, looking around. Danny was messing with something in his hands. “Sung said this should help us find the source of the transmission!” He grinned when the device started to beep softly, pointing in a direction. “Alright, let’s go Bri!”

Brian sighed, feeling less than enthused. He wasn’t sure why he felt so reluctant about this mission, but he wasn’t about to let Danny get caught in unfamiliar terrain alone.

The planet was hot and felt humid, sweat already damp on his skin. His skin felt sticky as he and Danny traversed the thick plantlife, which also seemed to stick to their skin slightly. Danny was far less concerned, pushing thick vines and leaves aside, following the directions of the beeping device. “I think I hear talking ahead!” Danny grinned, starting to move faster, just barely out of Brian’s sight.

Brian rolled his eyes as he followed the crunching of Danny’s steps, pushing through the vegetation. He let out a heavy breath as he managed to find the clearing Danny had stumbled into. Several aliens were surrounding what appeared to be a large machine. They all had soft green skin, and parts of their bodies seemed to be made of plants.

“Excuse me!” Danny grinned confidently as he walked up to them, waving. Brian rolled his eyes and followed, watching as Danny put away the device into his bag. “Hi! We’re from the Starlight Brigade, and we picked up a signal from this planet. We traced it here. We weren’t sure if it was distress, so we thought we’d come check in. I’m Danny, this is my partner Brian.”

“Ah, the great Starlight Brigade?” One of the aliens gave a bow, which Danny and Brian quickly returned. “I am Sorrel, and these are Elowen and Linden. Our signal was not one of distress. However, we have been having trouble with our machinery. We were unaware of the signal sent, and are unable to do proper maintenance. Our dear friend who takes care of such matters is not with us.”

Brian blinked. ‘ _ Oh, we’re sorry for your loss.’ _

“Sweet Thorn has not passed on, no. They are simply off planet on a well deserved vacation! However, if there are false signals being sent, we may have to contact them early.”

Danny shook his head quickly. “No, no. Why don’t I take a crack at it? If I can’t help, we’ve got a few members on standby that I can call on!”

“You would help us with such a trivial matter?”

“No problem is truly trivial.” He grinned. “Besides, it’s what the Starlight Brigade is all about! Extending a helping hand all across the galaxy.” Danny rolled up his sleeves as they opened the hatch of the machine for him to look at.

Brian sighed softly. Of course, another job he couldn’t help with. He watched from a distance, vaguely paying attention to the technical jargon Danny was discussing with Elowen, pausing when he heard a snap behind him. He glanced at Danny, but figured he’d be right back anyway, turning and making his way carefully into the overgrown brush. Everything was so green, that after a moment of walking, he realized he’d be lucky if he could find his way back after figuring out what the sound had been.

Well, that was a problem for his future self. He decided he was too deep to turn back without finding out. The heat was suppressing, but he pushed on. It wasn’t nearly as bad as the planet where he’d met Kyal. He found another small clearing, but it seemed empty, the gentle orange light of the nearby star casting an odd color on the plant life around him.

He let out a silent sound as he was suddenly swept off his feet, hanging upside down by his ankle. The vine that had wrapped around his ankle was thick and… seemed to faintly pulse like it had a heartbeat. He curled his body upwards slightly to inspect it, squinting slightly. He reached for it, but an airy voice stopped him. “Please don’t. My vines are rather sensitive, you know.” A figure stepped into the clearing, two brown eyes and a plain white one blinking at him. Fae were clearly the same species as the other aliens that had greeted them.

‘ _ Who are you?’ _

“You can call me Carnation!” Fae hummed as fae reached a hand towards Brian, curiously prodding at him. “And you?”

‘ _ I’m Brian.’  _ He squirmed in the hold of the vine, tilting his head slightly at Carnation. ‘ _ Why am I being held like this?’ _

“Hey now, I’ll be the one asking questions. Where’d you come from? Obviously you aren’t from here.” Fae smiled sweetly.

‘ _ I’m with the Starlight Brigade.’  _ He reached into his back pocket, passing fae a small card. It was designed to display text in any language, with the official seal of the Brigade. ‘ _ My partner and I were sent to investigate a distress signal.’ _

Carnation inspected it with a hum. “I see. Well, I take it you know that the signal was faulty?”

‘ _ My partner is helping repair the equipment. I thought I’d take a short walk while waiting, as I’m… far less experienced in technical matters.’  _ He shifted. ‘ _ Are you planning on keeping me like this? I do have other things to attend to.’ _

“And what might that be?” Fae manipulated several vines to flip him over, a dangerous smirk on faer lips. And oh god, Brian was absolutely getting a boner from this.

His blush had most definitely spread above his mask, his hands bound behind him and legs spread. A certain… need had become almost painfully obvious, and he wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to stay like this. ‘ _...uh.’ _

“Hm, I think I have an idea.” Carnation looked pleased, stepping forward so they were face to face, faer breath warm against his face. “I could of course let you go, but where’s the fun in that?” Another vine wrapped around his waist, his mouth falling open in a silent gasp. “Unless you want me to let go?”

All the blood seemed to rush from his brain, and if he had been thinking straight before, he sure as fuck wasn’t now. He shook his head rapidly. He didn’t totally know what this would entail, but he swore he was perfectly okay with whatever fae did to him.

Carnation grinned brightly. “Wonderful. I haven’t had a… well, a playmate in far too long. It’s only fun with someone who wants to play. Not that I’d ever try otherwise.” With a flick of faer wrist, the vines were stripping his clothes off, leaving him exposed. He didn’t know if it was because his mind was too… well, too horny, or if it really was that fast, but he hardly felt it as his clothes were taken off.

A thick vine, different from the ones binding him, pressed against his lips, secreting something. It was sweet on his tongue, the vine filling his mouth. He began to suck it gently, watching as Carnation let out a soft gasp. “Well, don’t you have a pretty mouth?”

The vine around his waist squeezed tighter, and he let out a soft sound. ‘ _ Carnation, please-’ _

“Well, I suppose there’s no real gagging you, is there? Shame.” Fae giggled, stepping closer and reaching a hand out to gently take his cock in faer hand, stroking gently. There were tiny flowers that seemed to grow out of faer arms, which looked almost like twisting tree branches, but felt so different.

He swallowed around the vine, drooling around it as fae touched him, feather light on his skin. His breathing was tense as he clenched his fists, thighs tense. Fae smirked as faer fingers slid away from his cock, along the inside of his thighs, almost exploratory as fae pressed against his tense thighs before moving back to his cock. He was breathless as he drooled slightly, already incredibly turned on.

Brian pressed his hips forward into faer hand, sucking harder on the vine as he tried to focus on faer touch. Carnation let out a pleased hum, watching his expression. “I assume you wanted some kind of… relief, hm?” Fae giggled as Brian shifted in the vine’s hold, hit by the sheer weight of his desperation as he panted softly, his breathing heavy as he focused on the the way the vine in his mouth pressed gently against the back of his throat, the sweet taste overwhelming.

‘ _ Please.’  _ It was practically a gasp as he could feel the vine around his waist digging into his bladder. ‘ _ I can’t hold it, I can’t-’ _

“Hm…” Faer hand fell away from his achingly hard cock, and fae began to walk around him, almost inspecting him. All he could do was suck on the vine and drool. “As nice as you look like this… I’d love to see you let go. I bet you’ll just fall apart at the seams, won't you?” Carnation’s voice had him wishing he could moan, cry out, beg. Telepathy just wasn’t the same.

The vine around his waist squeezed tighter, making him shiver and squeeze his fists, doing all he could to hold on, keep himself together. ‘ _ I can’t, Carnation, please, holy shit-’ _

“Let go. Let me see you fall apart. I bet you’ve never been in a position like this, have you? Is that why you’re so flustered? Or are you used to being bound and humiliated like this? Is it the only thing that lets you feel good?” Fae gently took his cock in faer hand again, stroking and smirking when he tensed. “Let go. Let me see, Brian.”

His mouth was open around the vine as he let out a silent whine. And he let go, feeling utterly humiliated in the absolute best way. He was so hard he hadn’t been sure if he could let go. But the sun was warm on his skin, and he was all too aware of how exposed he was as he let himself go, his pee splashing out of him onto the ground, Carnation’s hand still holding him.

He was shaking slightly as he pissed, having not even realized just how bad he’d had to go. But now he was so absolutely aroused, that the quickly alleviating pressure was adding to his pleasure, drool down his chin as he swallowed around the vine. Carnation’s eyes were on him, he could practically feel it. He wanted it all, anything he was going to be given.

Carnation licked faer lips, smirking. “Well, I knew it was going to be interesting, but this isn’t exactly what I was expecting.” Fae watched as his stream came to a slow end, leaving a puddle on the ground. “I definitely appreciated seeing that. What’s the purpose of your body releasing so much liquid? Is it for temperature regulation?”

He smiled a little around the vine, gasping as another wrapped around his cock, which was leaking. Pre this time. ‘ _ No. Waste. Human bodies only use so much water. The rest is filtered through the body and released.’ _

“Really?” Carnation tilted faer head. “You don’t store water for later use? You just get rid of what your body hasn’t used?”

‘ _ Uh… I guess?’  _ He thought a moment.  _ ‘I mean, the body uses water for pretty much everything, but it doesn’t really keep any. Do you?’ _

Carnation lightly flicked the leaves and vines that made up faer hair. “Yes. These are mostly filled with water in case of draught. Of course, we haven’t had one in generations.” Fae hummed, poking out faer tongue. “Well, we can talk about this later. It would seem you’re a little preoccupied. As am I.”

Brian let out a sigh, tongue coming out as the vine pulled out of his mouth, slick with his saliva. He nodded, a little bit dazed as the vines adjusted around him. His shoulders were starting to get sore with the vines holding him mostly up by the wrists. He didn’t object as his hands were pulled behind his back, bound together. He let out a shocked gasp as he felt a slick vine press into him. It was thick and cool, not quite as warm as he had been expecting. He felt the vines around his ankles spread his legs more, the vine easing deep into him.

His cock was leaking as he tried to press back against the vine, Carnation resting a hand on his head, faer fingers gently sliding through his hair. He looked up at faer through his eyelashes, the vines keeping him in place. A slick vine was pressing against his lips, coming from between faer legs.

Fae let out a low hum as he let the vine slide into his mouth, his tongue pressing against it and exploring the curves and ridges of it. Carnation smiled as fae watched him suck on faer vine. “You look good like this. All tied up and choking on my vine.” Fae smirked as the vine pressed deeper into his mouth, pressing just barely into his throat. He gagged slightly, but between the vine in his mouth and the vine in his ass, he was practically blissed out.

Faer fingers were gentle in his hair, but there were occasional sharp tugs that sent pleasurable shivers down his spine as he drooled around the vine in his mouth. It was different than the one he’d sucked on earlier. It was still sweet, but there was an incredibly… well, it was almost an earthy smell. The vine tasted like sweet sap, not quite as overwhelming as the other vine, but it was wonderful. He could feel the way the vine eased down his throat, probably bulging out his neck slightly.

The vine in his ass seemed to flex slightly, making him feel the stretch. It was almost painful, but it was still pleasurable, just a slight burn. His prostate was being pressed against, sending waves of absolute pleasure through him. The vines that bound his hands and ankles and held him up were tight, enough that he knew it would likely leave a pattern of bruises along his skin, but he didn’t care what they’d look like. He tried to rock his hips, but couldn’t move all that much. The vine around his waist that had been pressing on his bladder was still around him, holding him still.

Carnation let out a content sound, a hand resting on Brian’s cheek. “You’re turning such a lovely shade of pink. And I wasn’t expecting you to be able to take so much. I thought you’d be a little more frail.”

‘ _ I’m the furthest thing from frail.’  _ He looked up at faer through his eyelashes, his breathing through his nose heavy. He felt almost breathless. He wasn’t quite being choked or suffocated, but it was certainly close with the vine down his throat.

“I’m not saying you’re frail, silly.” Fae giggled softly, but it turned into a low moan as Brian swallowed around the vine. “Oh, that’s nice…”

He could feel the pleasure in the pit of his stomach at the slight praise, leaning his head slightly into faer hand. Fae seemed pleased by the tiny movement, gently tugging his hair to pull him deeper on faer vine with a soft moan. “You’re so good at this, aren’t you Brian?” Fae grinned, feeling the way his throat seemed to flex around the vine as he swallowed.

‘ _ I’ve had a bit of practice.’  _ He felt a small amount of the sweet liquid slide down his throat, swallowing around the vine again. He could taste it on the back of his tongue, his eyes rolling back slightly as his hands held onto nothing. He wanted to hold onto faer hips, a vine, anything. He felt a little unstable with the way he was being held by the vines.

He wished, not for the first time, that he could moan out loud, make any noise to let Carnation know just how good it felt. The vine in his ass was still cool, which was an odd, but incredibly pleasurable sensation, urging him closer to an orgasm. But he wanted to try and make Carnation climax first.

He pressed his face closer to faer body, his forehead gently bumping against her stomach, her vine practically all the way down his throat. He could feel it flex, bulging out his throat again. He swallowed to avoid gagging, He wasn’t sure if fae was close, didn’t know how to tell, but he almost didn’t mind. He was content to just stay here and blow fae as long as fae wanted.

He felt faer hands pulling at his hair again, letting out a low sound. “Oh fuck, oh Brian, I’m…”

‘ _ Please,’  _ he practically begged, pressing his head closer, coaxing the vine as deep as he could before pulling back slightly, letting faer fuck his throat, faer hips starting to move as fae held his hair tight. He took careful breaths through his nose, his cock dripping pre down to the ground, leaving drips that reflected the warm orange light from the sun. 

He felt his own drool dripping down his chin and his nose was running a little. He couldn’t imagine he was a very attractive sight, but Carnation was still moaning, suddenly pulling his hair much harder. He choked around the vine as fae climaxed, the sweet, sappy tasting liquid sliding over his tongue. He swallowed, rocking his hips ever so slightly.

Carnation pulled the vine out of his mouth, stroking his hair gently. “That was incredible.” Fae grinned as the vines began to move him again, the vine inside him flexing and pressing deep into him. His face had drool all over his chin and cheeks. He let out a shaky gasp as fae reached to take his flushed, achingly hard cock.

He had about a thousand questions about the vines holding and fucking him, but he was too focused on just how close he was to cumming to even think about asking them. His arms were being held above his head again, leaving him incredibly exposed. He didn’t care, panting as he was fucked. He could feel the slight ache in his throat, in his ass, in his scalp… He was just vaguely sore, but didn’t quite care, so absolutely turned on.

“You really do look incredible like this.” Fae was grinning, teasingly poking faer tongue out before adjusting faer clothing, which seemed to be simple fabric wraps, almost like a loincloth. “Though I suppose it is your turn to feel good, hm?”

‘ _ Trust me, just that felt incredible.’  _ He looked up at faer with a grin, incredibly disheveled.

Fae laughed, rubbing a finger along the head of his cock. “Well, maybe I’ll just leave you to head off from here, huh?”

‘ _ Now, I didn’t say that.’  _

Fae laughed, the vine thrusting a little more insistently. “That’s what I thought. Man, you’re cute.” Fae began to stroke him again, pressing a kiss to his cheek sweetly.

His breaths began to get faster, and he was pulling against the vines restraining him. He squeezed his fists tight as his hips pressed forward, and then he was cumming with a strained gasp. Carnation stroked him through it, grinning as fae watched him.

His hips jerked slightly as he came, wincing slightly as the vines rubbed against his wrists. He panted softly as fae wiped of faer hand, the vine inside him easing out carefully, and he was set onto his feet. He gasped slightly as he collapsed to his knees, legs shaky. ‘ _ Fuck.’  _ At least he hadn’t fallen into the puddle of his own urine.

Carnation grabbed his clothes, smiling as fae helped him get dressed. “Sorry for being so rough.”

‘ _ It was great, don’t apologize. That was… absolutely incredible.’ _

“I’m glad. I don’t usually get partners so… out of the blue. We don’t get many visitors, and I think I’ve had sex with pretty much every alien who brings supplies.” Fae grinned. “This was fun! Do you think you’ll ever come back?”

Brian rubbed at his wrist, thinking. ‘ _ I doubt it, but I can’t say for sure. If I do, I’ll try to come find you, maybe we can have fun again.’ _

“Well, I would love that. How about I help you find your way back? I saw you walk over here, and I think I know exactly where you came from.”

He nodded, shaking a little as he got up. He was sweaty and… well, still a little damp in some places. He’d definitely need to clean up when he got back to the main ship. Carnation led him through the lush greenery, back to the clearing where Danny was holding a tool with his hair tied back, leaning over the machinery and screwing something into place.

Linden looked up and smiled kindly. “Carnation, we were wondering where you had gone off to. I see you’ve met one of the Starlight Brigade members. We were beginning to worry about him.”

Carnation grinned. “Oh, we were just in a wonderful conversation. I had a few questions, and he was more than happy to answer.”

Brian nodded, doing his best not to blush. Danny looked up and grinned. “Aw, Bri, that’s cool! You’ll have to tell me about it on the way back to the main ship. For now…” He bent over the equipment again, grinning. “I think I’m just about done! This should work way better now!”

Sorrel bowed to him, smiling. “We don’t have much to offer in way of thanks, I’m afraid.”

“Don’t worry about a thing! The last thing we’d want is you relying on bad equipment. I’m just glad I could help fix it.” Danny smiled brightly, handing a card to Sorrel. “If you ever need any assistance, send a message, okay?”

Sorrel bowed again with a smile. “You have our eternal gratitude, great starlight Brigade, thank you.”

Danny bowed back, smiling sweetly. “Thank you. Brian and I should take off.” He smiled as they headed back to the Star Skimmer. “They were so nice. You were with Carnation, right?”

Brian’s face flushed, and he nodded. ‘ _ Yeah. Fae’s… sweet. We talked for awhile.’ _

“Sung was right. You make friends anywhere you go!”

He felt himself blush even darker, adjusting his mask. ‘ _ Friends, yeah.’ _

Danny hummed softly as he got into the small ship, starting it up. He pressed a finger against the earpiece with a grin. “Danny and Brian to base, we’re on our way back.”

Brian smiled a little as he got himself buckled in, feeling the ship lift off the ground. He winced a little when he realized he smelled like… well, urine and plants. He just had to hope that Danny didn’t notice, though judging by the odd glance thrown in his direction, Danny absolutely did.

He bit his lip, looking out as the vast expanse of space came into view. Danny didn’t ask, but he could feel the awkward energy in the small ship. He could only guess what Danny was thinking, and Danny’s mind was truly something that was, and always would be, beyond his comprehension.

But whatever. He wasn’t going to say anything if Danny wasn’t.

They both seemed to breathe a soft sigh of relief as Danny landed in the ship, flipping open the hatch. Sung grinned widely at them, his helmet tucked under his arm. “So? How’d the mission go?” She offered a hand to help Danny out.

“It went great! Just some faulty wiring. I helped replace it, and their equipment is in perfect working order. There shouldn’t be any incorrect transmissions.”

‘Good to hear. Brian, things good on your end?”

Brian nodded. ‘ _ Had a nice chat with someone while Danny was working. I’m not much for all that technical crap.’ _

Danny stuck out his tongue, grinning. “Rude. You’re just mad that I’m better at something.”

‘ _ Whatever. I’m heading to clean up. Yell if you need something.’  _ He paused a moment. ‘ _ I’d prefer it if you don’t need anything.’ _

Meouch made a face as Brian passed, eir nose scrunching up. “Dude, you smell rank.”

‘ _ Well why do you think I’m going to get cleaned up?’  _ He flipped em off, making a face back at em before heading to clean up, and hopefully never get asked about why he smelled.

“You’re a kinky bastard, Brian.” Meouch snorted, arms crossed.

‘ _...I don’t know if it’s how you mean it, but I’m totally taking that as a compliment.’ _

Ego smirked, wrapping an arm around Brian’s waist. “Oh, it’s an utmost compliment. I’ve seen every side of how kinky you can get and it’s excellent.”

Meouch made a noise as ey got up, tail flicking behind em. “Alright, that’s enough of this. I’ll see you dweebs around.” Ey stretched their arms above eir head, playfully flipping them off before leaving.

“Good, now we can make out!” Danny yelled, giggling.

“Nasty!” Meouch yelled back as he disappeared down the hallway.

“Well, that was fun.” Ego grinned. “Now, back to you, Brian.”

Danny grinned brightly. “Dude, that’s a fucking wild story. I can’t believe you lived out a crazy internet fantasy.”

‘ _ Oh, shut it.’  _ Brian rolled his eyes, blushing faintly. ‘ _ My wrists were bruised for like a week after. I’m a little impressed no one noticed. Or at least, no one mentioned it.’ _

“Now that I think about it, you were definitely extra touchy after that mission. I thought you were being mopey about something. I guess you were just trying to hide how much of a horny mess you are.” Ego grinned, letting out a yelp as Brian swatted at stars head. “Rude.”

“Brian, don’t be mean.” Danny grinned, leaning heavily on him. Or, as heavily as he could.

Brian just patted his hair, smirking a little. ‘ _ I’ve never been not mean. You two are just blind to my charm and ignore that fact.’ _

“You’re a sweetheart and you know it.” Ego crossed stars arms, smirking a little. “You’re a sweet, sensitive romantic. And you’re sappy.”

‘ _ That’s slander and I’m taking you to space court.’ _

“Brian, you can't just slap space in front of something and assume that’s the right term.” Danny shook his head.

Ego grinned. “No, no, it is space court. He’s right.”

“What the fuck.”

“Yeah, pretty much.” Star grinned as star leaned on Danny, pressing him tighter against Brian, who didn’t actually protest that much.

Danny, on the other hand, began to struggle against star. “Hey! You’re squishing me!”

“You’re so scrawny. Not my fault it’s so easy to squish you.”

“Motherfucker.”

‘ _ Wow, danny, watch your mouth.’ _

“You’re both motherfuckers.” He kept struggling, wiggling slightly to try and get out from between them, but all that did was make Ego start giggling.

“You’re not getting away that easy.” Star leaned a little more to kiss his cheek softly, grinning widely.

“I hate you.” Danny huffed softly, shoving at stars arm.

“Nah. You love me and you know it.”

“Regrettably.”

“Re- regrettably?” Ego looked highly offended, pressing a hand to stars chest. “Dude. You hurt me. And here I am, doing nothing but loving you!”

Danny just pouted, squished between them. “You’re both mean and squishing me.”

‘ _ Because we love you so much and just want to be near our lovely boyfriend.’  _ Brian grinned when Danny groaned loudly.

“Oh my god!” He shoved at Ego’s arm, pouting. “Get offfffff, I’m injured!”

“Oh shit, am I hurting you?” Ego practically flung starself at the other side of the couch. “Shit, I totally forgot.”

Danny snickered as he leaned back, laying his legs across stars lap. “No, you didn’t hurt me or anything. It got you off me though.”

‘ _ Dweebs.’  _ Brian rolled his eyes, smiling softly.

“Alright, if you aren’t the pot calling the kettle black.”

“Huh?” Ego tilted stars head, confused.

‘ _ Earth saying. He’s calling me a hypocrite.’ _

“Oh! You are!” Ego grinned brightly, earring a loud laugh from Danny.

“Oh, I love when you agree with me, babe.” Danny wrapped his arms around Ego’s waist, giggling into stars shoulder. He grinned even brighter when he saw Brian pouting slightly.

Ross was grinning when xe and Suzy came through the room again, Suzy giggling as vir wings buzzed behind her. Before a word could be said, the sound of hooves could be heard. Props to Barry, who was running so fast that their two hooves were sounding like a whole horse.

Ross yelped as Suzy climbed the wall, trying to get the vent cover off, vir hands scrambling at the metal. Brian jumped as the cover almost hit him, Suzy grabbing Ross’s hand, trying to pull hir in.

“You two!”

Danny blinked. “Jesus Christ.”

Suzy had Ross half pulled into the vent, and they were both frozen, Ross’s legs dangling awkwardly. Barry grabbed vir ankle. “You’re not getting away that easily.”

Xe squeaked. “Don’t stab me!”

“St- stab you? With what?”

“Your horn, duh?” Suzy peeked out, vir chin resting on Ross’s head.

“Oh my god just get down.” They held out out their arms, smiling faintly when Suzy shoved Ross out, making hir fall into Barry’s arms.

“...hey.”

Danny tilted his head. “So… what’s going on here?”

“These two broke into my lab!” Barry pouted. “I was testing some stuff, and it almost exploded! Do you know what happens when there’s an explosion in the vacuum of space?”

Suzy raised a hand. “I don’t!”

They sighed. “You’re lucky you’re cute, Suzy.” They set Ross down.

“I thought Ross was taking you out flying.” Ego watched them, visibly amused.

“Oh, that was easy.” Ve grinned, hovering a few inches off the ground. “It’s just like the games back on my home planet. I’d rather use melee weapons and not fly, though.” Ve leaned against Barry, giggling.

Barry smiled, shaking their head slightly. “What are you three up to? Danny, staying off that foot?”

“Yup! We’re grilling Brian about his sex life and making Meouch grossed out.”

“Sounds like a typical day for you guys. I’m making dinner with Phobos for everyone on the ship. You coming?”

“Hell yeah.” Ego grinned. “I can’t wait, I’m sure it’ll be tasty.” Star stretched out. “Don’t worry, I’ll give Danny a piggyback ride. He’s not getting on his feet on my watch.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” They smiled. “See you guys in a little while.”

“See you at dinner.” Danny grinned as Brian gave them finger guns with a small smile.

Suzy and Ross followed Barry out, Suzy giving them a quick wave and a kind smile.

‘ _ Suzy and Ross are weird. No wonder Barry likes them.’ _

Danny snorted a little at that. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

‘ _ You know, opposites attract. Aside from the horse parts, Barry is one of the most chill, normal guys i know. They’ve got good energy. And good vibes.’ _

Ego giggled. “I guess you’ve got a point. Barry certainly does seem like one of the less eccentric Brigade members. They’re just trying to corral us idiots and keep us from getting hurt.”

‘ _ To mixed results. Too bad I didn’t know them back when I met Danny.’ _

“Aw, Bri.” Danny frowned. “I know you’re insecure about not having your voice sometimes, but… well, I won’t tell you that it makes you the way you are. But it’s a part of who you are. You’d be someone else if it hadn’t happened. But I love this version of you. And I know there’s a version of me who loves the other version of you. But… oh, I have lost track of this thought.”

Brian smiled softly. ‘ _ Well, I think I know where you were trying to go with that. And it’s a sweet sentiment. I love this version of you too.’  _ He smiled softly, patting Danny’s cheek.

Danny poked out his tongue, making a face. Brian just smiled, snuggling up against his side and stretching out. “You’re rude.” Danny started to run his fingers through Brian’s hair, pouting.

Ego laughed softly, perched on the arm of the couch, watching them. “So, was that it? Was Carnation the last time you hooked up?”

Danny grinned. “Oh, it isn’t! You mentioned someone else, um, Pixel?”

Brian smiled a little. ‘ _ Close. Pix. I met him on a different mission, the first one we went on with Ego. We were stationed there for a few days, and he was flirting with me the whole time, and I ended up hooking up with him on our ship. I think it was while you were sleeping Danny, and while Ego was on patrol.’ _

Ego’s eyes went wide as star stared at Brian. “For real? I- I mean I guess you’re not exactly the loudest in bed, but Danny is such a light sleeper.”

Brian shrugged, grinning a little. ‘ _ I was so tense the whole time, but hey, we’ve already established that I’m kind of an exhibitionist. It was… it was pretty hot, I won’t lie.’ _

“Okay, obviously you have to tell us everything.” Danny smirked a little, leaning his chin on his hand as he looked intently at Brian, who rolled his eyes with a slight smirk.

‘ _ Fine. This was… a little while before the three of us… well, hooked up the first time. It was when we were on Afus, just a few galaxies over.’ _

Brian had his arms crossed, eyes shut faintly as he stood outside the ship he had taken with the other two to this small planet. It was bigger than the usual ships used for missions, since they were being stationed there for a few days.

Afus was a small, tech advanced planet that had been receiving threats from the forces of Boredom. Brian didn’t know too much about their enemy, just that they were nomadic, travelling from galaxy to galaxy, leaving planets turned to voids in their wake. He knew almost every member of the Brigade had joined to fight after losing something to Boredom, in many cases, their entire home planets. It was obviously tragic. He’d only come face to face with a few fleets, and that time they’d destroyed a… well, a destroyer…

It had been chilling. That was a huge step forward for the Brigade, but Brian was haunted by the chilling nothingness that had encompassed their small fleet.

He shook his head slightly, looking up to the sky, at the twinkling stars that seemed so far away. It felt like a night on earth, almost, a soft buzzing coming from somewhere behind him. It was an electric kind of buzz, but it reminded him of crickets.

“Hey.” He jolted at a voice, looking up at a taller alien with cybernetic body parts, silver against his almost gold skin. “You’re Brian, right? With the Brigade.”

‘ _ I am. Pix, right? You met us when we landed yesterday.’ _

“You remembered me? I’m touched.” He leaned against the ship with a smile. “I couldn’t get you out of my mind. I hope you don’t find that… odd.”

‘ _ Not odd. Maybe… strange.’  _ He found himself blushing, tugging lightly at the bottom of his mask and trying not to smile.

“Not odd, just strange, huh?” He laughed softly as he leaned closer to Brian, close enough he could hear the soft whirring of the cybernetic parts. “Well, I think I’d be incredibly interested to know what makes the difference.”

‘ _ Strange has less of a negative connotation to me.’  _ He grinned as Pix began to laugh, leaning fully against the ship so he could look up at the sky.

“You know, I’ve lived here a long time. I never get sick of this view.”

‘ _ All the more reason to protect the universe from Boredom. Star destroyers would ruin it.’ _

“Yeah… I’ve always heard the legends of it, but… you never think it’ll hit your part of the galaxy, the part you call home. And now… I’m on a planet that’s threatened.”

‘ _ We’re here to protect you and everyone here. We have fleets out patrolling, ready to fight, and we’re gathering resources. We could have everyone on this planet evacuated in an hour if we need to. You won’t be lost in this war.’ _

Pix nodded slightly. “Have you ever fought… directly? Against Boredom?”

‘ _ We don’t really… know anything about their leader. But I’ve faced a few fleets. I was on the team that took down a destroyer awhile back. That’s when we found one of our newest members, e’s barely an adult but has instincts with the best of them.’ _

“Well, that makes me feel much safer.” Pix lightly leaned closer, his shoulder brushing Brian’s slightly, the metal cool to the touch, even through his shirt. As always, Brian could think of a million questions to ask, but he decided to just… be in the moment.

And Pix seemed entirely content too.

Brian stood up fully, frowning when he heard someone coming from the bushes. Ego stepped out, having been meeting with planet leaders. Star was holding a device and talking into it, Brian able to faintly hear Sung’s voice coming from it.

‘ _ Ego, hey.’ _

“Hi Brian. Sung said she’s got the ships together to get everyone out of here if we have to resort to that. No word from the members doing recon, no shots fired yet. Everything is pretty quiet.”

‘ _ Well, let’s assume no news is good news. Only way to stay sane, right?’ _

Ego nodded, looking up as Pix walked away, brushing past star lightly. “Huh? Who was that, Brian?”

‘ _ A local. Had a few questions, thought I’d answer them.’ _

“Ah, okay. Well, I’ll take over here. You go rest, Danny and I can swap out in a few hours, sound good?”

Brian nodded, smiling when star held out a hand to fist bump him before he headed into the ship, where Danny was resting on a bed. Brian sighed as he got into the bunk under Danny’s, listening to him snore softly. He laid on his side, lightly closing his eyes as he listened to the soft sounds of the ship, Danny’s breathing, and the distant sounds of the planet.

He’d swear that the planet had a heartbeat as he let himself doze off, but he supposed most planets did in a way. There was a rhythm to the universe, each planet adding its own unique twist.

He supposed that was one of the things he enjoyed about traveling the galaxy.

The next day was very quiet, the planet filled with nervous whispers, fear of the doom that may or may not be impending. Brian did his best to quell worries, but there really wasn’t much to say. He didn’t know if there would be an attack, all he could do was reassure everyone that there were safety measures in place.

He knew it wasn’t much for reassurance, but at least for the moment, things were quiet. Sung had called in the morning, letting them know that they hadn’t heard anything from the pilots on patrol.

“Let me guess. No news is good news?” In the early evening, Brian looked up from his device, waiting for a call from Sung that he wasn’t sure would come. Pix had perched himself on an old piece of rundown equipment. It was marked by tape on the ground, but he didn’t pay it much mind.

‘ _ It’s the best philosophy at the moment, I suppose. What are you doing back here?’  _ He offered a hand to help Pix down, which he took with a small grin.

“Well, I wanted to see you again. I know you won’t be here long, but you just fascinate me. You’re not like anyone I’ve ever met.”

‘ _...I honestly doubt that.’ _

“It’s true. You seem really interesting, Brian.” Pix grinned, reaching out a hand to gently take Brian’s. “You have this intensity to you. And you’ve been reassuring everyone all day. My younger sibling was incredibly worried, but you helped em feel more at ease. That does mean a lot to me.”

‘ _ I didn’t even realize I talked to your sibling.’ _

“E doesn’t look much like me. I don’t think we’re technically related but…” Pix shrugged.

‘ _ Well, that’s not what family is about. It’s more than relationship. Or… blood relation, I should say.’ _

Pix smiled at that. “You’re definitely right about that.” He was still holding Brian’s hand, making him smile faintly under the mask. “So… why do you wear the mask?”

He frowned, reaching to tug lightly at the bottom of it. ‘ _ Well… it’s something I got used to back on my home planet. I guess it became a habit, something I never really broke out of, or really considered changing. I guess it’s comforting.’ _

Pix hummed lightly. “Is it comforting or restricting?” He seemed to backpedal at the odd glance Brian shot at him. “I mean like, is it something that you actually want? Or is it something you were told to do and you just did?” Pix looked down at his hand, the cybernetic joints whirring softly as he flexed them.

Brian hesiated slightly. ‘ _ I … never thought about that. If it’s something I want. I never had much of an option, but this was something I did get to decide, even if it was… a little under duress. I’m not used to having a choice. It feels like it’s been a lifetime, but… no time at all since I was there, if that makes sense. I don’t… I don’t know.’ _

“Not knowing is okay too.” Pix squeezed Brian’s shoulder, the metal on his body reflecting the slight purple of the sunset. His smile was kind, and Brian felt a warmth in his chest, one that he only felt around Danny. It was a kind of comfort, one he didn’t know how to react to.

Comfort came from familiarity, but this was a different warmth he couldn’t describe or understand.

The hand moved slightly to let fingers brush against the bottom of his mask. He let out a quiet sigh, closing his eyes ever so slightly as he leaned into the touch. There was an expression of kindness on Pix’s face, and he let out a soft breath. ‘ _ I want you, Pix. I want to let you take me completely.’ _

“I won’t say I don’t want you too, but aren’t you patrolling?”

‘ _ Only technically. Ego can handle things on stars own for a little while.’  _ His face was flushed lightly as he felt the tips of his fingers pressing ever so slightly against the side of his neck. ‘ _ I’d say I don’t do this, but that would be more of a lie than I like to admit.’ _

Pix let out a soft chuckle, letting his hand slide along Brian’s shoulder, down to hold his hand gently. “I suppose I’m just lucky I’m the one who caught your eye, then, aren’t I?”

Brian just blushed darker, lacing his fingers with Pix’s and leading him into the ship, holding a finger to his lips to keep him quiet. Danny was snoring softly in his bunk, wrapped around a soft stuffed animal Ego had bought for him on another planet. Brian felt a wave of fondness go through him as he looked at Danny, but shook it off and pulled Pix into a small storage room that had just enough room for them to both stand comfortably.

Brian let his eyes flutter shut as his mask was slowly pulled off, his graying hair sticking up in every direction. Pix’s hand slid through his hair, the metal of his hand warm on Brian’s scalp. It didn’t feel like skin, but it was unique from other metals that had ever touched his skin. He let out a soft breath, slowly opening his eyes and looking up at Pix, who leaned forward to catch him in a kiss.

Pix’s hands were gentle on his hips, drawing a silent sound from him, coming out in a soft breath. He touched Pix’s cheek, fingers brushing over where metal met skin, both warm, but...different against his fingertips. He just kissed back, letting himself feel and be felt. 

Brian sighed into Pix’s mouth, biting gently at his lip and pulling him closer, their bodies warm where they were pressed together. There was a shelf behind Brian, he could feel it digging into his back. He could feel one pressing into his calf too, something on the shelf jabbing into his leg. He’d certainly been in more comfortable positions, and yet this was somehow perfect.

Pix’s tongue felt different. Different from the slimy, gooey tongue of Kyal, different from Kexe’s sandpaper tongue. It didn’t feel fake, but there was an odd edge of artificial, a distant taste that reminded him of silicone mouthguards, just way hotter. He didn’t know how much of Pix was organic, how much was cybernetic, and it felt rude to ask. But that was okay. Sometimes it was okay to not know.

After all, whether he knew or not wouldn’t change the fact that he was in the middle of an incredibly hot makeout session.

Pix’s breath was hot, hotter than his and heating his skin, a leg pressing to slot between Brian’s legs and give him something to grind against. His hips began to move on their own as he humped gently against Pix’s thigh. His breaths came in soft gasps, which Pix seemed to appreciate, stroking his hands through Brian’s hair.

Brian’s hands found Pix’s hips, pulling at his shirt. Pix slowly pulled away, and Brian could feel his warm breath as he carefully helped Pix get undressed, eyes tracing where his skin met metal, the line nearly seamless. It was striking.

Pix was pressing him back into the shelves, making his back ache, but he didn’t mind too much. He was hard where his crotch was pressed against Pix’s leg, breaths heavy. There were no words exchanged between them, but Pix let out a particularly needy sound, quiet against Brian’s lips. Brian pulled away, gently pressing a finger against his lips, letting out a soft sound, a hushing noise.

Pix nodded, lowering his head to nip gently at Brian’s neck, earning a shaky breath. He winked, eyes reflecting the small amount of light in the dark room, pulling Brian’s shirt off in a single motion, setting it aside on one of the lower shelves. “You want this, don’t you?” Pix’s whisper was soft, his breath brushing gently against Brian’s ear. If he could, Brian would have moaned, skin flushed and hot at the gentlest touch.

‘ _ More than anything. I need you Pix.’ _

“That’s all I needed to hear.” They were both nude in just another moment, every touch fueled by a needy head that was nestled under their skin. Brian’s tongue slid along Pix’s neck, tasting the heady flavor of metal alongside the taste of sweat. It was absolutely intoxicating.

Pix rolled his hips against Brian’s, earning a huff of warm air. His cock wasn’t human, Brian knew it was different, but without being able to see it, he could only feel. It was almost… ridged in a way. And Brian wanted it inside him. He pressed closer as Pix’s hands explored his body. It was pressing against his own cock, heat winding between them.

“Brian, turn around,” Pix murmured. His voice was heavy with lust, his hands gentle on Brian’s hips as he guided him to bend over slightly, elbows leaning on one of the shelves. He was biting his lip as there was the sound of clothes rustling softly behind him. He gasped softly, fingers suddenly pressing into him, slick with something cold, something slippery. He buried his face in his hands as he was gently fingered open, Pix’s free hand resting on his back. Being opened up like this wasn’t a new sensation, but it was always incredible.

Brian panted softly, biting his fingernails lightly as he was opened, doing his best to carefully control his breathing, legs shaking as he tried to keep himself from fucking himself back against the fingers inside him. Pix let out a low hum, bending over Brian so his chest was pressed to his back. “You look good like this, you know. I wish I was more selfish, so I could ask you to stay. I’d love to have you all to myself, so I could be with you forever.”

Brian’s face was a darker red, he could feel the heat on his own hands, pressing back slightly. ‘ _ I wish you were a little more selfish too. But you’re not, are you?’ _

“I’m not. And I know you aren’t either. I can tell.” He twisted his fingers to earn a soft, choked gasp from Brian. “But we can be selfish for tonight. Just one night.”

Brian didn’t respond. There was a small ache in his chest, something he’d felt inside himself before. A low throbbing loneliness. He got this attachment to everyone he had flings with, hell, even Onyx had drawn him in. Maybe there was a part of him that associated sex so closely with intimacy. Maybe it wasn’t even the sex that he wanted.

Then Pix’s fingers nudged against his prostate, and he was definitely sure he wanted this sex right now.

He swallowed, pushing any residual thoughts of loneliness away. For now, he wanted to be in this moment.

He let out a silent moan, mouth open as he let himself be carefully stretched open, Pix’s fingers careful and thick inside him. He pressed his face into his own folded arms, panting softly as he spread his legs a little more, trying to get Pix to open him up faster.

‘ _ Please, I need you so bad, Pix. Need you to fuck me, make it so I can’t think about anything else, just you in me.’ _

Pix stroked his lower back gently, voice near a whisper. “Almost Brian. I don't want to hurt you.” He pressed a kiss to the back of Brian’s neck, something that almost made his legs give out.

He could feel himself putting more weight on the shelf his arms were resting on, arching his back slightly. His mouth opened in a silent whine as Pix slid his fingers out, but it was just another moment before Pix began to slide into him, making him shiver slightly. Pix rested his hands on Brian’s hips, letting out a low sigh, pressing his face into Brian’s shoulder. Pix began to slowly thrust as Brian shifted his weight between his feet, biting his lip.

Pix was letting out soft moans and sighs, which were muffled by Brian’s skin. Brian tilted his head back, closing his eyes as he just… took it. It felt incredible, the ridges along Pix’s cock catching slightly as he was fucked. It was an interesting sensation, and certainly a pleasurable one.

His breath came in rough huffs of air as he felt Pix fuck into him deeply. As much as he wished he could cry out, the last thing he wanted was to be caught by Danny.

That’s what he kept telling himself at least. Though… dwelling on thoughts of Danny for too long was just dangerous. He couldn’t let himself think about how… kind Danny was, or how strong he was, how he…

No. Brian wasn’t going to think about Danny in the middle of sex. He kept those thoughts shoved deep down until he could be alone, let himself wallow in them, then shove them back down and do it all again.

A gentle nip at his neck snapped him back into reality with a choked gasp. He pressed his hips back against Pix’s, biting his lip harder. He heard Pix whine softly, felt his own body trying to keep Pix inside him. The thrusts were getting faster, deeper into him. He could feel his own cock starting to leak, dripping pre onto the floor. His cock was flushed dark red, and he could feel it where it was against his stomach.

A thrust had Pix’s cock dragging across his prostate, tantalizingly slow. He let out a shuddering breath, pressing back against Pix. His cheeks were flushed soft pink, and he already felt so fucking close. He let himself sigh, resting one of his hands on top of Pix’s which was still resting on his hip. Pix moved his hand to hold Brian’s, squeezing it gently.

Pix mouthed lightly at Brian’s neck, his muffled moans vibrating against his skin. Brian squeezed his hand tightly. He wished he could hear Pix’s moans out loud, wished he’d get to hear him when he finished, but he knew it wouldn't end well if Danny was woken up. Well, it wouldn't end well for him at least.

He shivered as Pix’s hand rested on his upper back, his thrusts speeding up. The nails on that hand were metal, digging into his skin lightly. Brian almost asked him to scratch him, but he gasped as Pix suddenly thrusted as deep as he could, groaning against his shoulder.

Brian let out a silent cry, feeling as he was filled by Pix, his hips thrusting slightly against nothing as he was pushed over the edge. He had no idea what he was going to end up getting his cum on, but he really didn’t care as he was held tight by Pix, who was letting out soft groans and whines as he finished.

They stayed in the same spot for a long moment, Pix breathing heavily and holding Brian around the waist. Brian winced slightly as Pix slowly pulled out, leaving him feeling empty. With a groan, Pix began to redress himself, leaving Brian to catch his breath.

“You alright?”

Brian nodded, picking up his clothes from the shelf, stretching his arms over his head. ‘ _ A little stiff. But I’m alright. Should probably get cleaned up…’  _ He pulled on his pants, freezing when there was a buzz from his communicator in his pocket. ‘ _ Shit.’ _

The message from Sung was frantic, enough that Brian didn’t even bother pulling his mask on, not even grabbing it as he grabbed Pix’s hand, pulling him out of the storage room. Danny was pulling his hair back as they ran out of the ship. “What’s Pix doing here?’

‘ _ Not important. Where’s Ego?’ _

“I thought star was with you! Pix, come on, we need to get you to the ship.”

Pix seemed to pale, gold skin turning yellow. “Will I be able to come back?”

Brian and Danny shared a glance, and Brian could feel a pit in his stomach. ‘ _ We don’t know. Right now, it’s more important to get out of here. The Brigade will help with finding you a new home, but that might not be necessary. And I know your sibling needs you.’ _

Pix nodded slowly, letting himself be pulled gently by Danny, waving to Brian as they disappeared through the foliage. Ego ran up to Brian, letting out a relieved sigh. “Brian, come on. Barry’s on his way with a few fighters. We need to meet them.”

‘ _ Is Barry fighting?’  _ Brian was having a bit of trouble adjusting to the sudden shift in mood, but his expression was being kept carefully neutral.

“No. But they’re a set of hands that we need right now. Danny is helping citizens onto evacuation ships, Barry is going to land after we meet up with them.” Star seemed to hesitate as they got in the ship. “Are you ready for this fight?”

‘ _ I don’t think anyone can be ready for this.’  _ Brian pulled the door shut. ‘ _ But we don’t have a choice. Let’s do this.’  _ He sat down in the chair by Ego, pulling on the belt.

Ego nodded, frowning. But star took off, and neither could hold back a sharp gasp at the state of the space just outside of the atmosphere. There were already destroyed ships, lasers being fired in every direction. Ego steered the ship away, noticing a ship approaching them. The ship had the brigade’s logo, and had another ship hitched to it. Star quickly extended the bridge, allowing the small ship to connect to them. Barry stepped through the bridge, offering a grim smile.

“It’s not looking good out there. Another destroyer is approaching, but there… there are a lot of soldiers. We’re outnumbered.”

‘ _ And standing around won’t do anything.’  _ Brian frowned, narrowing his eyes. ‘ _ Come on, Ego. Let’s go kick ass. Barry, tell Danny I’ll kick his scrawny ass if he gets himself hurt.’ _

Barry smiled slightly, sitting at the controls as Brian and Ego ran through the bridge to the connected fighters. Brian sat down in the first, reaching up to adjust the controls, calibrating the gun. Ego disconnected from him, and Barry recalled the bridge, turning back towards the planet.

And it was just Brian in the fighter. This wasn’t his first battle, but he knew everything was on the line. It always was though. All he could do was take down everything he could and have his team’s back.

He zoomed after Ego into the thick of it, firing off shots towards the unmarked ships with blacked out windshields. He wondered if there really was anyone in there. When the Brigade had investigated what had been left of a Boredom ship, there had been no sign of life, organic or otherwise.

The running theory was that the forces of Boredom were automated. It did make Brian feel a little better about blowing up ships, to be fair. At least he wasn’t killing anyone.

Brian’s eyes scanned the battle in front of him, watching explosions send shockwaves through the empty vacuum of space. He could feel his heart clench whenever a ship with the all too familiar logo exploded. But that’s all it was when a ship was taken out in space, it seemed. Nothing, then an explosion. And another life was lost.

Mourning would come later, on the main ship. A somber ceremony where the lives lost were honored, followed by a meal where they tried to be more light hearted and celebrate, but would inevitably have more tears than laughter.

For now, he knew he had to focus on the mission at hand, protect the planet Pix called home. He knew the forces of Boredom seemed inevitable, but Strive had proved to them that they weren’t. Their fighting back wasn’t delaying an inevitable, they really were doing good.

Brian bit the inside of his lip, his fighter flipping as he narrowly dodged a laser, firing one off and wincing when the explosion was too close to his own ship for comfort. There were lasers of all colors flying through the small expanse of space they were fighting in, and Brian could see that the Brigade was starting to gain some ground. He was dodging debris along with the lasers now, many of the chunks of ship colored green and black.

Though he knew there was a larger threat looming, hands gripping the controls tighter as he fired off more shots. Sweat beaded on his forehead, dripping down his face as he dodged shot after shot, some far more narrowly than he would have liked. He could hear crackled messages through his radio, and some were simply screams, followed by static. Those were the worst.

Then an even more chilling message from Strive. “The destroyer is approaching, and… oh no. They have more shields. I don’t know if we’ll be able to come out if we go in.”

Sung’s voice was next, an edge to it that was… unsettling coming from them. “We’ll have to get more manpower then. Brian, Havve, I need you two to just… go ham. Take out as many ships as you can, there should be a button under the radios to give you a boost in firepower. We need to clear the way to the destroyer. Strive, you and I should have a boost in engines with the same button. Meouch’s boost should be more balanced, but we’re taking that destroyer out now.”

Brian reached up as he did a roll, smirking a little when he found the button, pressing it without hesitation. His already heavily armed ship began to divert power to the weapons, and the next shots were far more powerful, enough that he could feel the kickback. But it went much farther, and knocked out two ships at once. Havve seemed to have the same realization as aer ship began to move forward firing shot after shot.

Brian caught up with aer ship, and they exchanged a glance before approaching the destroyer that seemed to cover the stars. Brian always felt an odd chill when he saw the larger ships, but this destroyer was for more advanced than any he’d seen before. Strive had been right, and as e had said, there was a semi transparent shield surrounding the whole thing. And it looked more reinforced than he remembered. 

He flinched when a laser grazed his ship, but it didn’t explode. There was a quiet alert going off, but he ignored it as he began to fire shots off at the ships that had fired at him and Havve. Havve was seemingly focused on the shields, but it didn’t appear to be doing much.

“Ready? We’re going to hit the shield with everything we’ve got! Ego, follow our lead.” Sung’s voice didn’t give away much, but Brian knew she was nervous. And he couldn’t blame him at all.

Strive’s ship zoomed past, crashing into the barrier, making him flinch. He knew eir ship could handle it, but… he worried about em. Even if e could care for emself…

He followed, hitting the barrier next to Ego, who looked away just long enough to wave. Brian’s stomach clenched as he put full force into the controls, eyes trailing a spiderweb crack that was expanding along the shield. They were so close. Just a little more….

Another ship slammed into the shield, and it broke. Brian looked up, seeing the ship that had been on Pix’s planet just earlier and gasped slightly when he saw Danny behind the controls. And then… nothing.

The inside of the destroyer was something that was hard to explain. It was what Brian imagined the theoretical void to be like. Suffocating and empty. Silent but deafening. He felt like its existence was oxymoronic in a way. And there was the feeling of imminent death, imminent loss.

It hadn’t happened the first time, but he could feel tears begin to fall down his face, blurring his ability to see the vast expanse of nothing.

He couldn’t see. He was cold. He was… utterly scared.

He didn’t know what was on the other side, and that terrified Brian. And there was a long moment of everything crashing down around Brian. His breaths began to choke him, and he was almost grateful for his curse of silence, because he knew he’d be screaming if he could. He didn’t get to tell Ego or Danny that…

That he…

He was jolted out of his thoughts by the ship shaking around him, nearly knocking him off his feet. He’d crashed into the other side. They all had. He was shaking as he pushed as hard as he could on the controls, the alert getting louder. He didn’t know what it was, his vision still blurred with his tears. But… that wasn’t it, was it? He couldn’t breathe.

He didn’t see the shield break, hear the cheers through the radio. Brian collapsed at the controls, feeling like his head was going to explode, watching as the stars blurred and faded to black.

“Br… an… Brian?” There was a gasp, then a yell that felt too loud. “He’s waking up! He’s moving!”

Brian squinted as he opened his eyes, head aching. ‘ _ Where am I?’ _

“Everyone back off, give him room.” Brian’s vision faded into focus, and he was looking at Barry’s horn, staring at the way the med bay lights reflected off it. They offered a small smile. “Hey, you’re a little banged up. You hit your head when you fell, and you passed out. Sung said your ship got grazed, and it was fucking up the oxygen flow. It’s a miracle you made it through the destroyer.”

“You almost died.” Danny’s voice was rough, and when Brian looked over tiredly, he was surprised to see his face streaked with tears. “Brian, fuck, why didn’t you say something?”

‘ _ I didn’t know anything was wrong… by the time I did, I was already falling.’  _ He frowned. ‘ _ I’m okay, Danny.’ _

“What would have happened if we lost you?” Ego was next to Danny, looking equally distraught. Star cleared stars throat, frowning. “Brian, we would have been devastated… I can’t… we can’t lose you, man.”

“I love you Brian.” Danny blurted it, seemingly without meaning too. His face flushed pink. “I… I love you, I can’t lose you…” He reached to hold Brian’s hand, and almost on instinct, Brian squeezed it, biting the inside of his lip.

‘ _ I… think I love you too. I… I don't know though. You need to give me some time to figure things out. I want to love you, but… I don’t know where I’m at right now.’ _

Danny squeezed Brian’s hand, smiling softly. “No matter what you decide, I won’t leave you, I promise you.”

Brian nodded, letting out a soft breath, partially of relief. His promise not to leave was… he needed to hear that. His eyes fell onto Ego, who was standing off to the side, stars pink skin lightly flushed purple. ‘ _ Ego. I’m not sure how to say this but… everything I just said to Danny applies to you too. I want to love you. I want… you. But I feel like I… can’t.’ _

Star blinked, tilting stars head. “Both of us?”

‘ _ Both of you, yes.’ _

Danny grinned a little. “Oh. Oh… I like the sound of that, I won’t lie.”

Barry sighed, smiling faintly. “Well, I hate to break this up, but I want Brian to stay here longer to recover. I’ll keep an eye on him, you two get out for now. He’ll be in good shape by tomorrow.” Barry helped Brian up, one of their arms wrapping around his waist. “Let’s get you to a comfier bed to rest.”

Brian nodded, glancing back at Danny and Ego, offering a small smile.

“God.” Danny sighed. “Do you know how terrified we were when your ship veered? If Strive hadn’t managed to corral it back to the main ship…"

‘ _ But I turned out okay.’  _ Brian smiled. ‘ _ A short med bay stint won’t hold me down, don’t worry.’  _ He gently rubbed a hand over Danny’s stubble, earning a grin.

“You’re still a dweeb and I hate seeing you hurt.” Danny pouted, crossing his arms. “And you seem to so often.”

Ego nodded, draping starself across Danny’s lap. “He’s right, you dweeb. You get yourself into trouble.”

‘ _ Not intentionally. My life just keeps colliding into trouble. At least it also collided with you two. It’s pretty decent consolation for the shit I’ve been through.’ _

“...I think that’s sweet. I’m going to take it as a sweet thing.” Danny grinned, running his fingers through Ego’s hair sweetly.

Ego let out a little purr, cozying stars cheek against Danny’s stomach. “Mm, that’s really nice.”

“You really are a cat.” Danny grinned, looking over at Brian, who was smiling faintly as he watched the two of them.

‘ _ Oh, I like you two. You’re both cute.’ _ Brian was letting himself relax, leaning back against the arm of the couch he was sitting against.

“Ironic. We feel the same about you.” Danny poked out his tongue, smiling.

‘ _ Please, I’m not cute.’  _ He stood up with a grin.

“Fuck you that’s a lie.” Ego let out a tiny yawn. “Ugh, we have to get up, don’t we?”

‘ _ We agreed to join everyone for dinner, so yeah, we do. And you agreed to carry Danny, not me.’  _ He flipped Ego off, earning an offended giggle.

Danny whined. “I don’t want to be carried though!”

“Barry’s gonna have my ass if they find out you were walking on that ankle. And this ass is property of you and Brian.” Ego got up with another soft yawn, carefully picking up Danny, who squirmed in stars hold a moment before getting comfortable.

“Fine.” He nuzzled his cheek against Ego’s chest, tucking his head under stars chin. “I don’t like this.”

‘ _ Yes you do, being carried by Ego is the best thing ever.’  _ Brian smirked at his partners as they headed down the hall.

“....I like this a little bit. I don’t like needing to be off my feet though! I’m going to fight Barry.”

“Fight the one who basically has a sword sticking out of their forehead? I’m sure that’ll end really great for you, won’t it?”

“...Maybe. I’m as much a ninja as Brian, you know.” He stuck his tongue out. “Just because I don’t act like it, I’m well trained and can use similar martial art techniques.”

‘ _ But I can use mental powers.’ _

“I could have learned. I simply chose not to.”

Brian shrugged. ‘ _ Maybe you could ask Barry. They did mention wanting to teach Ross some basic healing. If xe can pick it up, I know you can too.’ _

“Was that an insult to me or a compliment to Ross?”

‘ _ Both. Also an insult to Ross and a compliment to you. I’m a complicated guy, I can do both.’ _

“You’re certainly something.” Dan smiled, kissing Ego’s cheek as star set him down in a chair at the dinner table.

Suzy was buzzing around, helping to set the table. Ve offered a small smile, setting down a table setting in front of Danny. “Phobos is in the kitchen. Ze says that the food should be ready soon!”

“Cool, thanks Suzy.” Danny grinned, taking a sip of his water as Meouch came into the room, levelling Brian with a look.

Brian just looked away, pretending not to notice. Not his most convincing performance. But he wasn’t about to address his sex life and what Meouch knew of it in front of everyone else.

Luckily he was saved by any embarrassment by Sung bounding into the room, looking like they’d been caught in an explosion. Her yellow clothes were covered in soot, and her helmet was filthy.

Phobos came in, carrying a platter of food. Ze set it down and swatted at Sung’s arm, frowning. ‘Go wash up. You’re not sitting down until you have no soot on your hands.’

“But ‘Bos-”

‘No.’ Phobos waved him off, making a face.

“Sung, we can’t have dinner until you clean up! We’re eating like a goddamned family for once.” Ross grinned at them.

“You’re all the worst.” Sung huffed, heading to get himself cleaned up.

“WE ARE SIMPLY POLITE, DOCTOR.” Havve was sitting at one end of the table, looking content, eyes glowing faint red.

Meouch snorted. “Speak for yourself, bolts for brains.”

Danny grinned. “What happened to getting along for an entire day?”

Meouch’s tail lashed, and ey raised an eyebrow at him. “We are getting along. No idea why you think we aren’t.” Ey picked up eir glass of water, lapping at it like a kitten.

Brian definitely wasn’t smiling at that, keeping his head down slightly. To hide his not-smile.

It was interesting. He’d spent the day looking back at his past, but… he knew he’d been fucked over before and some of the things he’d been through were… worse than he’s realized at the time. But he supposed it was time to start looking towards the future.

Ego and Danny were next to him, laughing about something and leaning on each other. Danny glanced up and grinned at him, and Ego leaned stars head back to bump it gently against Brian’s shoulder.

His chest warmed at the silent exchange between them. He’d been hesitant to start dating them, scared to make himself vulnerable. But it had become the best decision he’d ever made, leading to the most happiness he’d ever felt. Sometimes he felt like he didn’t deserve it, but Ego and Danny were always quick to reassure him that he was worthy and deserving of love. He didn’t know if he could ever repay them for everything they’d done for him.

But that was okay, wasn’t it? Love wasn’t necessarily about repaying things exactly. It was about learning to lean on each other.

Dinner was a quiet affair.

At least as quiet as a rowdy bunch like them could be. No less than three threatened fights between Ross and Meouch, two accounts of Ross and Strive threatening to take things outside, and at least one power ballad created by Sung and Danny with Ego creating a rap to go with it. It certainly was entertaining to watch, Brian finding himself falling quiet to just… be. 

Havve eyed him curiously as the meal was beginning to wind down to an end, but didn’t say anything, leaving Brian to his own devices. He helped Sung wash the dishes, enjoying the quiet atmosphere. Not that it was exactly quiet, Sung chattering aimlessly about everything. It was nice, though. He liked Sung, and his energy and endless positive attitude. Even if she got on his nerves from time to time.

“So just so you know, you’re being sent on a short mission in a few days. Mostly recon, but it'll be you and Meouch. You don’t have to worry about it, I’ll be giving you two a briefing tomorrow, but I thought you might appreciate a heads up.” They smiled, attempting to wink.

‘ _ You only have one eye. You just blinked at me.’ _

“Or maybe I only wink and don’t ever blink. Have you considered that?”

‘ _ Have you considered that you’re a giant dweeb?’ _

“I always do. I’m going to head back to my lab!”

‘ _ Don’t blow up the ship. See you tomorrow morning.’ _

“Night Brian! I make no promises!” She giggled, heading out while humming softly.

Brian shook his head, smiling as he headed back to his room, where he’d seen Ego and Danny heading after they’d eaten. He smiled as he passed Ross, who was doing something on hir tablet as xe scurried past.

He shook his head, pushing the door to their room open, raising an eyebrow when he saw Ego making out with Danny, who was perched on stars lap. ‘ _ Well, this is a lovely sight to come back to.’ _

“Bri!” Danny grinned as Brian closed the door behind himself. “We were wondering when you’d get back. We were hoping for another cutie to join us,” he teased.

Ego held out a hand and grinned, letting stars fingers curl around Brian’s hand, pulling him closer. “There’s our guy.” Star hummed, tugging him down into a long kiss, eyes falling closed as Brian’s tongue prodded gently into stars mouth. Ego’s teeth were sharp against Brian’s lip, but didn’t pierce the skin. It was warm and content, a shiver running down Brian’s back as Dan mouthed at his neck.

Brian could feel the piercing in Ego’s tongue, the taste metallic against his own. He ran his fingers through Ego’s hair as he reached a hand over to Danny, letting his palm rest on his thigh. Danny let out a moan, sitting back on Ego’s lap and sliding a hand between his legs. “You two are so stunning together…”

‘ _ You’re the beautiful one here.’  _ Brian smirked as he slowly pulled away from Ego. ‘ _ Though this cutie is pretty good looking too.’ _

Ego snorted. “You flatterer.” One of stars hands gently slid under Brian’s shirt, cupping his chest with a small grin. “I think you’re wearing way too much to flatter either of us properly though.”

Brian rolled his eyes, smirking as he stripped off his shirt, watching Ego’s eyes rake over his body. “You’re hot.” Danny had scooted off Ego’s lap and was getting undressed, slowly pulling his shirt off. “I want you to fuck me.”

‘ _ Well, since you asked so nicely.’  _ Brian sighed softly as Ego nipped at his neck, stars sharp teeth tugging lightly at his skin. ‘ _ What do you want, Ego?’ _

“I would love to fuck you.” Star grinned, nudging Brian off stars lap. “Help Danny get undressed.”

Brian nodded, smirking lightly as he helped Danny get his pants off, pressing light kisses along his stomach and chest, slowly pulling down his boxers. ‘ _ You’re beautiful.’ _

“Thanks.” He giggled, spreading his legs as Brian tossed his boxers aside. “Oh!” He let out a gasp as Brian suddenly leaned down, licking along his slit carefully. “Briannnn, fuck, that’s so good…”

“Pull his hair.” Ego grinned as star got undressed, going to grab some lube as Danny let out low moans. Star watched as Danny’s hands gripped at Brian’s hair, pulling the hair tie, making it fall around his face.

“God, Bri, you look so good like this… I love having you between my legs, feels so good…”

Brian just sucked carefully on Danny’s clit, earning a loud moan and a harsher pull to his hair. He could feel his cock getting hard, tenting his pants slightly. Ego had moved behind him at some point, and suddenly pulled his pants down, taking them down to his ankles with one move. He let out a soft gasp against Danny as Ego gently spread his cheeks.

Ego hummed as star teasingly pushed Brian’s head down into Danny’s crotch, making Danny gasp loudly. “Shit, Egooo,” he whined.

“Wanna help me pin Brian between us?” Star grinned and opened up the little bottle of lube.

“Oh, yes please.” Danny grinned, giggling when Ego took one of his legs, gently wrapping it around Brian’s waist.

“How about Brian inside you and me inside Brian?”

‘ _ God, it feels like you’ve been teasing me forever. When did you get so cruel?’ _

“I learned from the best.” Ego smirked, lightly slapping his ass. “Can you dish it and not take it?”

“Ugh, you have no idea.” Danny groaned, his heels lightly digging into Brian’s hips. “Come on, I’m trying to get fucked over here.”

Ego giggled. “Of course sweetheart.” Star reached around Brian’s waist, gently stroking his cock a few times before guiding him into Danny. “God you two are gorgeous.” Ego slid a slick finger into Brian, making him gasp.

Danny let out soft moans, bracing his elbows against the bed as he held Brian close with his legs. “Brian,” He murmured, reaching up to hold his cheek softly, looking at him with an incredibly loving expression, one that made Brian’s face flush.

Brian pressed his face into Danny’s shoulder, shivering slightly as Ego fingered him. He rolled his hips slightly, just barely thrusting in and out of Danny, who lightly played with Brian’s hair as he tried to rock against Brian’s cock.

Ego pressed gentle kisses along Brian’s spine, carefully stretching him open. “I’ll never get tired of seeing you like this. All spread open and pretty....”

He let out a huff of air, hot against Danny’s shoulder. ‘ _ I’m not pretty.’ _

“You kinda are. Especially when you’re full of Ego.” He giggled.

Ego smirked, pulling stars fingers out of Brian. “Speaking of…” Star began to ease stars cock into Brian.

Well, it wasn’t exactly a cock. It was thicker and… well, more pliable, a little like a tentacle with less movement. ‘ _ Are you going to lay your eggs in me?’ _

Ego let out a breathy laugh. “No eggs tonight. I laid them in Danny last week, remember?”

Danny let out a soft whine, trying to push his hips up. “They were a bitch to get out in the shower after.”

“Hey, those are my children you’re talking about.”

‘ _ They weren’t even fertilized, dweeb.’  _ Brian gasped as Ego rolled stars hips, pushing him into Danny, who grabbed his arms and squeezed lightly.

Danny whimpered, practically dripping around Brian. “Fuck, you feel so good.” He pressed his head back against the bed, his hair around his head like a halo. “Fuck him harder, Ego, I need it so bad…”

Ego grinned, biting Brian’s shoulder with stars sharp teeth, earning a shivery gasp. “If you insist.”

Stars hips began to thrust harder, pressing stars ovipositor deeper into Brian, pushing him into Danny.

Brian found himself chest to chest with Danny, close enough he could feel the faint scars on Danny’s pecs against his own chest. “Hey,” Danny murmured, giving him a searing kiss as Ego fucked him.

Brian wasn’t usually in the middle, usually that was a role Danny and Ego fought over, and it was… a little overwhelming, so much more sensation than he was used to. He panted into the kiss with Danny as Ego’s ovipositor nudged against his prostate. He could feel himself shaking slightly against Danny, carefully shifting his weight to one arm.

Danny cried out as Brian’s free hand slid between them, finding his clit and thumbing at it.

Ego groaned softly, stars hands gripping Brian’s hips tighter. “Fuck, you two. I’m so lucky to see you like this.”

Brian let out a low breath, one that might have been a whine if he had a voice. He swallowed thickly as he began moving between them, thrusting into Danny while getting Ego to press deeper into him. ‘ _ It’s almost too bad you don’t have any eggs for me. Would feel so good to get filled while fucking Danny.’ _

Ego let out a soft huff. “Maybe when I’ve got some more for you, we can give it a shot.” Star let out a long moan, Brian’s eyes rolling back as Ego was pressed even deeper into him. “Oh, fuck, that’s good, isn’t it baby?”

Brian nodded, Danny biting at his neck as he pressed harder against his clit. “Right there, Bri, don’t stop!” Danny whined, his voice shaking just a little as he let his hands claw at Brian’s back, rocking slightly as he tried to get more stimulation, almost desperate in his movements.

Brian panted softly, his breath hot against Danny’s shoulder. He rubbed more insistently against Danny’s clit, earning a loud, keening cry. “Brian, oh fuck, Brian don’t stop!”

_ ‘Are you already going to cum for us? So desperate for it, aren’t you?’  _ Brian grinned as Danny made another long noise, his nails digging into Brian’s shoulder blades.

Ego’s hips were thrusting rapidly, stars hands sliding gently along Brian’s stomach and chest. “Look at you two,” star muttered. “So fucking good, Brian….” Star bit at Brian’s neck again, and the thrusts pushed him deeper into Danny, whose head was pressing back against the pillow on the bed. 

Danny held onto Brian tighter, letting out a loud cry. “Fuck! Ego, Bri, fuck, harder!”

Brian kissed along his collarbone, feeling the way Danny was getting even closer, stomach tense and legs holding Brian tighter. ‘ _ Good boy, doing so wonderful for us…’  _ Brian was panting, his fingers gripping at Ego’s, just needing something to hold on to. ‘ _ Ego, oh my god, if you stop I will stab you.’ _

Ego chuckled, nipping at Brian’s neck. “Good boy, cum for us.” Stars teeth were sharp, the small amount of pain making him hold onto Danny tighter, thrusting harder into him. “Danny, how close are you?”

“So fucking close, Ego… so close, oh god…” He whimpered, toes curling as he squirmed slightly under the touch. He clutched Brian’s wrists, pulling him closer. “I want you to cum in me Brian, please, I want it more than anything, fuck!”

Brian was panting, rubbing his thumb against Danny’s clit, biting his lip. Danny cried out, arching his back and cumming. “Brian, Ego, oh my god,” he gasped, holding onto Brian tightly.

Brian pressed back against Ego as he leaned over Danny, drawing more gasps from him as he came. Danny whimpered as he was filled by him, his hips rocking slightly.

Ego grinned, hand splayed out on Brian’s stomach as star kept thrusting into him. Ego could feel the way Brian was breathing heavily, smirking as star worked to push him to be a little overstimulated. Brian was half collapsed against Danny, chest to chest with him as he was fucked, Danny playing with his hair. “Oh Bri,” Ego mumbled, kissing the back of his neck.

Brian’s mouth was open in a silent moan, his breath hot against Danny’s skin. He gasped as Ego came, stars tentacle swelling inside him. His hands grabbed at Danny’s shoulders as he was filled with, well, a goo. A very thick goo.

He panted softly, shaking slightly as he pressed back against Ego, who leaned forward against him.

There were a few more long moments of heavy breathing and leaning against each other. Ego slowly pulled out and laid down next to Danny, stars hand reaching for his. Danny squeezed gently, his other arm wrapped around Brian’s waist, just holding him.

‘ _ I love you both.’  _ Brian had his eyes lightly closed as he curled into Danny’s side, reaching to hold Ego’s hand and squeeze.

Ego smiled, stars hand carding through Danny’s hair. “We should clean up.. Don’t want to be all sticky before we sleep.”

Danny groaned, hiding his face in the crook of Ego’s neck. “...comfy though.”

‘ _ But you’re full of cum.’ _

“There are worse things to be full of.” Despite that, Danny slowly lifted himself up off the bed, untangling himself from his partners with a yawn. 

“Woah, hey!” Ego quickly got up, picking up Danny. “I don’t want to face Barry’s wrath, babe.” Star kissed at his neck sweetly.

Danny let out a whine, but didn’t exactly fight being carried. “Fine. Let’s go start the shower, then.”

Brian sat up, watching Ego carry Danny to the bathroom. He smiled lightly and turned to make the bed, pausing to smooth out all the blankets. He never imagined he could be this happy with stupid domesticity, let alone domesticity while in the endless void of space, but he really was.

With a small sigh and a smile on his lips, he headed to shower with his partners. It had been a long day, long but good.

And who knew what tomorrow might bring?


End file.
